Hello Tilda!

Super quick post today, need to get out to the barn...the farrier's gonna be here at any moment! Sketch by Mojo Monday Challenge #77, Colors Pink, Green, Brown is the Pink Elephant Challenge. I feel like this card is missing something, but can't quite put my finger on it... I did play with my Copics again, need to figure out the cheek part on Tilda, but am happy with the rest of it...I like the boldness of the markers...I've been needing my characters a little darker than I could achieve with my colored pencils. Thanks for looking and the recipe will be up sometime today...gotta run...horses need shod!
Recipe:

• Stamps: Magnolia Tilda, Studio G sentiment & butterfly
• Ink: Memento, Tim Holtz
• Paper: DCWV Nana's Nursery
• Other: Stickles, Nestabilities Circle & Scallop, American Crafts Ribbon, Copics

We have SPRUNG forward...

What a morning...woke up to rain and wind, and wind and rain...and then we went Amish (no electric)...yet again...not for horribly long, but long enough! The ground is still pretty frozen here so all the rain sits on top of the ground...lots of flooding today, roads flooded, enough so the neighbors are outside snapping photos of their flooded land. I talked with my FIL and said he had to hook up the generator because the basement walls were seeping and the basement would flood if he didn't keep the sump pump going...but all is well, just a wet start to today! LOL

As if that wasn't enough, daylight savings time has begun for another year, so I'm already an hour behind! LOL...

So since rain to me = Spring around the corner, I thought a nice spring card would be in order! I met several challenges with this card, Pink Elephant Challenge blog was to use Die Cuts and Ribbon, the Cupcake Challenge Blog challenge was Spring, and I used the Mojo Monday sketch.
So let's discuss the card briefly, I found this adorable nest stamp by Inkadinkado (which is a nameless stamp) and decided to use my Nestabilities Label 1 dies to cut it out. The nest is stamped on watercolor paper and watercolored with Tombow pens, then matted on SU and IOD (striped) paper. Then I added the ribbon, the sentiment and pierced the bottom left corner towards the sentiment. Recipe below, enjoy!

Recipe:

• Stamp: Inkadinkado Nest, Studio G Sentiment
• Ink: Staz On
• Paper: SU, IOD, Watercolor
• Other: Nestabilities Label 1, Ribbon, Piercer, Pop Dots

Sammy Squirrel and the Copic Adventure

As many of my "faithful" blog readers know, I just entered Copic-land, the world of beautiful alcohol based markers...and I read blogs and tips and studied other people's work, scribbling down notes like I was in college for crying out loud! What no one MENTIONED was the bleed through factor these markers have...and I'm not talking about bleeding through the back of the paper, I mean COLORING OUTSIDE THE LINES! OH THE HORROR! Kindergarten teachers shuddering in their shoes everywhere...LOL...
This is my 3rd Sammy Squirrel (I Luvah him..isn't he sooooo cute?!), where I didn't color outside most of the lines...LOL...I still have a bobble here and there, but I'm NOT telling where! I did discover that the blending pen is not an eraser (bummer), but a really cool tool for lifting SOME color out and spreading and well...duh...blending ('magine that?!). Once I FINALLY got the hang of these markers I just REALLY love them...and thank goodness Sammy was patient and wanted to look his best...he was a labor of love... However I THINK I'VE got the HANG of it NOW...watch out world! LOL
A few months back I was browsing Split Coast Stampers forum (don't remember which) and came across a post that was asking stampers what they thought about digital stamps, I put in my own .02 (I Love them...I mean how often do you get to RESIZE your stamp...like never! LOL) and made a mental note to keep an eye out for the owner because I like the style of the digital stamps she presented...fast forward a couple of months later and I joined the Creatively Cute Blogging Group and who do I recognize as one of the blogging members but the same owner...talk about coincidence...and now she's got a call out for a new design team...so below is my entry for DIGITAL STAMP OASIS (now check them out, if you like Sammy here, you'll love the REST of her images...they are soooo adorable!)
So let's chat(ter) about the my design team entry (I know, like I'd never stop chattering myself...LOL). Ellie (owner of Digital Stamp Oasis) has given us a sketch to work off of, so I went from there. First, I printed Sammy off on my printer and did something I usually don't do...I colored before I chose my papers, although I DID have something in mind, but when I was finished it wasn't working, so I went with simple colors (no dp). I then decided after he was colored and mounted that I needed another strawberry, now here's where digital stamps REALLY rock, I enlarged the image and printed it out...noticed my strawberry in the corner is the SAME strawberry next to Sammy's right knee... I then colored it, ran it through my Xyron, mounted it on cardstock for stability and cut it out...I then pop dotted it TWICE so it was further off the card than the paper curls. My paper curls are 1/8" strips of paper (8 1/2") and then I curled them using a colored pencil as the base, I wanted this to look kind of like an actual strawberry plant, that's what I was after any way. I added Martha Stewart leaf punchies and stickled the leaves and the strawberry. At the bottom of the card I added queen and co flowers with red rhinestones on top. Sorry I was so long winded today...recipe below as usual...

Stamp: Sammy Squirrel from Digital Stamp Oasis

Copics: C3, YG06, YG03, YG11, R29, R20, RV10, B00

Punch: Martha Stewart Leaves

Embossing: Cuttlebug Swirls

Other: Queen & Co. flowers, Red Rhinestones, Stickles

Drumroll please...

Here's the picture I had taken from my Mary Kay night...so here's the question...should it replace my photo in my avatar now...so put your vote in the comments section...thumbs up YES, New photo for my avatar...or thumbs down and keep the photo I have in my avatar now... TIA!

Thanks a Million, Last Inkadinkado Entry

Here's my last entry for the Inkadinkado card call...I went for uber simple, I tried and tried to embellish this one up and it always seemed to be "too much", so I stuck with simple. I do have a little bling to this though, I don't know if you can see but this paper has some shimmer to it...I bought it specifically for this stamp! The dollar embellishment underneath the sentiment was made with my Cricut (Opposites Attract). Recipe below:
Recipe:

• Stamp: Inkadinkado
• Paper: KI Memories Driven Big Bucks, Watercolor
• Ink: Staz On
• Other: Organza Ribbon, Cricut Opposites Attract, Pop Dot, MS Markers

SQUEEEEEEEELLLLLL...I've got some NEWS!!!!! (& a sneak preview)

Ok, first my news...I've been accepted as a design team member for the new, upcoming challenge blog Stamptacular Sunday Challenge...Yoo Hoo! Can you say EXCITED?!!!!!! If my body was able, I'd do some backflips and a cartwheel....Oh, I just can't wait to get started! Yeah!!!!!!! (did I mention I was excited?) LOL...
...and a sneak preview. I have been chosen to be an Artist Spotlight of the week at the Card Sketch a Day blog (March 13 & 14), along with being highlighted as an artist, you receive a sketch and make a few cards and then you make a few cards and the blog owner, Susan, makes a sketch off of your cards (it's called switcheroo)...well this is ONE of my cards that I made (for the switcheroo), this is also one of my cards going to Inkadinkdo for their free stamp deal (see post below for the details). This is called a table tent card, and I got the idea from Michelle Wooderson. The card itself is 4 1/4" square and the top is off the card just far enough making it a standard 5 1/2", so I can fit it into an A2 envelope. Recipe below:

Recipe:

• Stamps: Inkadinkado Heartfelt
• Ink: Staz On, Martha Stewart
• Paper: DCWV Nana's Nursery
• Punch: Martha Stewart Lace Border
• Dies: Nestabilities Oval and Scalloped Oval
• Ribbon: American Crafts
• Button: Unknown

My Inkadinkado Entry...Better Late Than Never

Here is one of my entries for the Inkadinkado card call (you can enter up to 3 cards/projects and get 3 free stamps...what a deal! Click HERE for the deets). So I decided to use my Belated Birthday snail stamp...I've just loved this little guy and have been dieing to use him! I watercolored him with markers on watercolor paper (HERE's the tutorial on how I did that) and added some stickles for his snail trail. It's been such a long time since I've seen a snail that I had to ask around to find out what color they were...LOL...I thought green and brown, but hey, my memories getting old! LOL! Below is the recipe, enjoy!

Recipe:

• Stamp: Inkadinkado Belated Birthday
• Paper: My Minds Eye and Watercolor
• Punch: Fiskars Threading Water
• Other: Rhinestones, Sticklers, Paper Piercer, Twine