I wheelie like you...

 Hi there!

I'm very excited to be guesting for Sunny Studio today and I've got two fun cards to share using stamps and dies from from their latest release. First up is this crazy cute scene featuring the Happy Hamsters set. Seriously, who can resist a pudgy cheeked hamster, let alone four of them? Right away I knew that I wanted to color all four of them into a cohesive scene showing them hanging out together in their cage. One would be running like crazy on the exercise wheel that is included in the set but what to do with the others? That's when inspiration hit and I decided to try my hand at coloring them all into one of those plastic maze tunnel type set ups. To help sell the idea that they are inside the tube I stamped them up using the lighter Memento desert sand ink versus the Memento tuxedo black that I had used to stamp up the wheel and its occupant. You can especially see the difference this makes on the hamster peeking out up top. First I stamped him in desert sand using my Misti then inked up only his top half in tuxedo black, creating the illusion that his bottom half is obscured by the tube that I then colored over top. For extra contrast on the plastic tubing I brushed on Dr. Ph. Martin's Bleed Proof White after my Copic coloring was complete. I also dabbed some around the feet of the running hamster to add to the motion and speed of the spinning wheel.    

 

For my second card I had a great time stamping and masking together a tropical beach scene using the Tiki Time set. Rather than have the sweet hula girl elephant dancing out front I thought it would be fun to have her tending bar at this beach front tiki bar instead. Her parrot patron looks quite pleased with the drink she has prepared. Because I also wanted to have those tiki torches blazing bright I ended up coloring in a rather dark sunset sky in the background, which also adds a lot of drama to the overall scene. The trade off for all that dynamic color is that it would be hard to stamp on one of the sentiments from the set and have it show up. Luckily for me I had the super cute Chloe Alphabet dies on hand which made adding a sentiment quick and easy. I really can't even tell you how much I love this playful font! In the end it was just what I needed to tie this card design all together. 

So thank you to Mendi from Sunny Studio for this chance to showcase a few of her darling stamp sets. I can't wait to see what else I can create with your fantastic images.  :) 

Hamster supply list:
cardstock- My Favorite Things and Copic X-Press It
stamps- Sunny Studio (Happy Hamsters)
ink- Memento tuxedo black and desert sand
My Favorite Things A2 stitched rectangle stax set 1
Sharpie extra fine white pen
Dr. Ph. Martin's Bleed Proof White
Copic markers:
hamsters- E50, E51, E53, E31, E34, E44, E47, R000, R30, R21
tubes- YG00, YG01, YG03, YG25, YG17
wheel/sign- BG01, BG02, BG05, B06, B37
mulch- YR23, E33, E35, E44
peanuts/seeds- E43, E55, E57, Y21, Y26, E74
cage- C1, C3, C5

Tiki supply list:
cardstock- Papertrey Ink and Copic X-Press It
stamps- Sunny Studio (Tiki Time)
ink- Memento tuxedo black
My Favorite Things A2 stitched rectangle stax set 1
Sunny Studio Chloe Alphabet dies
Sharpie extra fine white pen
Dr. Ph. Martin's Bleed Proof White
Copic markers:
sky- Y000, Y00, Y11, Y21, RV02, RV04, RV19, B69, B79, BV29
sea- B63, B66, B69, Y00
sand/leaves- Y21, E31, E33, E35, E43, E44/YG01, YG03, YG25, YG17, YG99
elephant- T1, T2, T3, T4, T5, R30, Y18, RV02, RV04, RV19, RV99
parrot- C00, C2, C3, C4, C10, RV04, RV19, RV99, BG01, BG05, BG07, YG01, YG25, YG17, YG99
torches- Y02, Y38, YR04, YR09, C2, C5, E81, E35, E74, E77, E79
drink- E43, E44, E47, YG25, BG02, BG05
hut- Y21, YR24, E33, E35, E43, E44, E47, E81, E55

A warm hug...

Hi friends!

I've been seeing so many cute cards being shared lately using adorable digital images from Rachelle Anne Miller that I just had to add a few to my collection too. I've always been a fan of cute snowmen, heck I have a whole Christmas tree dedicated to them, so when I saw this Snowman Hug digi I new it would be the first one I colored up. Aren't these two just darling? And even though they are part of the recent Christmas release I knew they could easily work for a simple friendship card as well. The hazy yellow background was totally inspired by a beautiful card Crissy Armstrong did last year and I think the subtle warmth of it totally suits these two frosty friends.  :)

Well, thanks so much for dropping by on this fine Sunday. Have a good one! 

Supply list:
cardstock- Papertrey Ink and Copic X-Press It
digital stamp- Rachelle Anne Miller (Snowman Hug)
stamps- My Favorite Things (sentiment) 
ink- Papertrey Ink soft stone
Papertrey Ink noted scalloped die
Dr Ph Martin's Bleed Proof white
Sharpie extra fine white pen
Copic markers:
skin- E000, E00, E11, E04, R00, R20
hair- E23, E57, E79
clothes- Y00, YR30, Y21, Y26, BV31, E81, W2, W4, W7, W9, BG72, BG75, BG78, BG99
sky- Y0000, YR30, E40, W00, 0
snow/snowman- W00, W0, W1, W3, W4, W5, YR30, Y0000, BV0000, BV31, C1, C2, C3
snowman accessories- C2, C5, C8, YR12, YR27, BG72, BG75, BG78, BG99, RV42, Y00, YR30, Y21, Y26, BV31

 

Don't be a scaredy cat...

 

Hello!

I'm back with my second guest designer post for Whimsy Stamps. I mentioned last week that I couldn't wait to dive into a Halloween card so of course I went all out in the spooky cute department for my card today. This frightfully fun scene actually combines three newly released stamps from Whimsy, Haunted Parlor, Spooky Kitties and Fuzzy Spiders. Black cats and Halloween just go hand in hand, or should I say hand in paw? LOL, anywho... so I stamped and masked this Spooky Kitty with the broom then stamped the Haunted Parlor right over top. Once the mask was pulled off it now looked like kitty was caught standing there red handed as he 'borrows' the witch's broom for a midnight ride all on his own. The parlor itself was decked out in traditional Halloween colors and the spider webs were added at the very end of the creative process to help push kitty back into the scene a bit more. That and the addition of a sentiment really helped pull this fun story all together. :)

Once again I would like to thank Whimsy Stamps for inviting me to join the fun this month and I can't wait to see what you have planned for Christmas!  
 

Stay crafty my friends!  

Supply list:
cardstock- Papertrey Ink and Catherine Pooler
stamps- Whimsy Stamps (Spooky Kitties, Haunted Parlor and Fuzzy Spiders), Papertrey Ink (sentiment)
ink- Memento tuxedo black
My Favorite Things A2 stitched rectangle stax set 1
Copic markers:
walls- V12, V15, V17, BV13, BV04, BV17, BV29
floor/railing- E71, E74, E77, E79, E81, E84, E44, E49
couch- C00, C2, C4
painting/chair/clock- YR15, YR04, YR18, C2, C5, C7, 100, Y02, Y26, E23, E25, E27, E29
broom- YR23, YR24, E35, E39, E55, E57, E59
kitty- BG000, C1, 0, YG21, YG07, G09, G29, T3, T4, T5, T6, T8, 110, R30, E93, E04, RV95, E79
runner- YG01, YG07, G07, G29

Bundles of hugs...

 

Hello crafty friends!

I'm just tickled pink to be joining Whimsy Stamps as a guest designer once again this year! And I gotta admit, this is a favorite time to be joining the fun because we are right in the thick of crafting for the upcoming holidays and Whimsy always has amazing stamps for those special occasions. I thought about jumping right in with a Halloween card but when I saw these amazingly cute squirrels in the new Bundles of Hugs set I couldn't let the fall season pass without inking them up. When thinking about how to put the scene together using all three of the squirrels I had to come up with ways to get them on three different levels so that the overall design would be more active and dynamic. That's when I remembered the tree stump that comes in the PDP Harley stamp set... it's the perfect lift for the acorn balancing squirrel! I also grabbed the little fairy door that comes in the PDP Raden set and added it to the stump to create a home for these squirrels to hibernate in once they are done foraging and showing off, LOL! I stamped the third squirrel with the sunflower nice and high on the card then simply colored in a wooden fence for him to be standing on. Because there was so much brown going on between the fence, tree stump and bushel of apples, I decided to make my squirrels grey so they would really stand out against the warmer tones. I'm so pleased with the cheeky story this scene tells and how animated and alive these little cuties appear to be.  :)
 

Well that's it from me today, later gators!  

Supply list:
cardstock- Papertrey Ink and Catherine Pooler
stamps- Whimsy Stamps (Bundles of Hugs, Polka Dot Pals Harley and Polka Dot Pals Raden)
ink- Memento tuxedo black and Studio Calico ice ice baby
Trinity Stamps stitched slimline die
Copic markers:
fence- E30, E31, E34, E71, E74, E47, C3
sky- B21, B000, B60, C00, C1, 0
tree stump- E31, E34, E41, E43, E44, E47, E49, E55, E81, E84, B41, C4, W3, W6, YR21, YR16
grass- YG01, YG93, YG95, YG97, Y21
bushel of apples- E30, E31, E53, E43, E44, E33, E35, C0, C1, C4, YG03, YG63, G99, Y15, Y18, YG21, R22, R35, R46, R89, E18
acorns- E21, E23, E25, E27, E29
sunflower- Y13, Y15, Y35, Y26, YR27, E35, E29, YG25, YG17, G99
leaves- Y13, Y17, YR14, R59/YR65, R43, R56, E18/YG01, YG21, Y13, Y18, E15
squirrels- E40, E41, E43, W0, N0, N2, N4, R30, E04
water/rocks- B0000, B00, B12, B23, C1, T3, W6
scarf- YR31, YR15, YR27, R14, R29, E18

 

Beautiful moments...

Hello again!

Today I'm sharing my second card as a guest for Your Next Stamp and I am up on their blog with a very 'tweet' scene. The darling birds in the Tweet Spring Birds set are full of so much joy and happiness plus the branches and all the extra scene builder bits make it super easy to create fun tree top stories. I approached this scene a little differently, masking off the left and right sides of the card front so that my scene only filled the center of the card. Once I had them all colored I flipped the mask to cover the scene and then used a diagonal stripe stencil with my Copics to create the patterning on either side. Then I used a dark brown Copic to frame the scene in leaving some elements, like the birds tail or the end of a blossoming branch to 'overlap' for added interest. Once again this great sentiment is included in the set as well, which makes sitting down to craft a card quick and easy because you don't have to go search your stash for the perfect finishing touch. :)

I want to thank Your Next Stamp for inviting me to play and create with some of their amazing offerings. I can't wait to see what they have coming up for the holidays! 

Supply list:
cardstock- My Favorite Things and Catherine Pooler
stamps- Your Next Stamp (Tweet Spring Birds)
ink- Memento tuxedo black and london fog
My Favorite Things A2 stitched rectangle stax set 1
My Favorite Things stencil
Sharpie extra fine white pen
Prima flowers
Kaiser Craft pearls
Ranger glossy accents
Copic markers:
 

Have a beautiful birthday...

Hey there!

I'm very excited to have been invited to guest for Your Next Stamp this month and I am up on their blog today with this sweet birthday card. They offer so many cute styles in their range of stamps that it made it hard to choose which ones to play with. The first set to completely win me over was this delightful Swan-derful set. It is full of mamas and papas and cute little baby swans in a variety of poses, perfect for building all kinds of beautiful nature scenes. I masked a bunch of them together to create an idyllic early morning swim, where they encounter a pair of curious fish during their search for a buggy breakfast. The sentiment is one of six that comes in the set and I really like how it plays off the idea of these freshly hatched babies enjoying their own birthday.

Alrighty, well thanks so much for stopping by and I will be back tomorrow with my second make for Your Next Stamp. :) 

 Supply list:
cardstock- My Favorite Things and Catherine Pooler
stamps- Your Next Stamp (Swan-derful)
ink- Memento tuxedo black and london fog, Papertrey Ink lemon tart and sweet blush
My Favorite Things stitched scallop frame die
Copic opaque white
Sharpie extra fine white pen
Copic markers:
adult swans- E50, E40, E41, V20, YR16, YR09, 0
baby swans- Y0000, Y00, YR30, YR31, E70, E71, E74, E77, W6, W9
fish- G20, YG11, BG01
sky- Y000, YR30, R000, R00, YR000, RV10, RV0000
water- B000, B00, B21, B12
trees- G43, G24, G46, YG21, YG23
grass/cat tails/ sand- YG03, YG17, YG67, G99, E23, E25, E27, E34, E41, E43

Own it...

Hi there!

I'm back with my final guest post for Sassy and Crafty. Even though they have begun previews of the new June release I wanted to have a go with the gorgeous Own It set of Sassy Girls. It's been a hot minute since I've done any no-line coloring and these gals were the perfect challenge so I stamped them using Ink on 3 Fade Out ink and went to work. It's always scary getting started with a no line image, they look kinda freaky for most of the time but then as more elements get colored in finally that magic moment hits and all of a sudden you have a very cool looking colored image. While I know my shading isn't 100% perfect, I am still really happy with how these two beauty queens turned out. Because I spent the majority of my time coloring them up I wanted to keep the rest of the card fairly clean and simple so each one got their own color coordinated faux watercolor background and a bit of glitzy gold washi tape to finish the cards.  

Toodles!

Own It supply list:
cardstock- My Favorite Things and Copic X-Press It
stamps- Sassy and Crafty (Own It Sassy Girls)
ink- Ink on 3 Fade Out and Studio Calico flamingo
My Favorite Things A2 stitched rectangle stac set 2
Sakura stardust glitter pen
Kaiser Craft gems
washi tape
Copic markers:
skin- E000, E00, E11, E04, R00, R20
eyes- YG21, YG93, YG95, G99, E49
lips- RV02, RV04, RV09
eye shadow- RV91, RV93, W3, W5
hair- E50, E51, E42, E55, E44
dress- RV02, RV04, RV25, RV29
mascara tube- C5, Y02, Y21, Y26, E39
background- RV10, RV02, RV04, RV25

Too glam supply list:
cardstock- My Favorite Things and Copic X-Press It
stamps- Sassy and Crafty (Own It Sassy Girls)
ink- Ink on 3 Fade Out and Memento espresso truffle
My Favorite Things A2 stitched rectangle stac set 2
Sakura stardust glitter pen
washi tape
Copic markers:
skin- E000, E00, E11, E04, R00, R20
lips- R20, R02, R35
eye shadow- W1, W3, W5, YG00, YG91
hair- E31, E33, E35, E47, E49
shirt- Y00, Y02, Y32, YR30, YR31, Y26
make up brushes- C2, C4, C6, W5, W7, W9, E74, E77, E79
background- Y00, Y02, Y06, Y18

Hey girl...

Hello friends!

I'm so happy to be guesting for Sassy and Crafty this month, their May release has a little bit of something for everyone. From fun critters to happy food, darling girls to sassy ladies, you are sure to find something to inspire. My card today features the super cute Girl Power set and since I couldn't narrow down which little darling to color up I decided to do a slimline card and create a besties card with all three. I stamped the middle girl first then masked her so the other two could be standing right next to her, their very own sweet as can be girl gang. I pieced together the sentiment from all the different words and phrases included in the set to reflect how important it is to have girl friends that are always there for you and to be one in return. :)

Ok, stay crafty everybody and I will be back with more Sassy and Crafty goodness next week!

Supply list:
cardstock- Papertrey Ink, Bazzill and Catherine Pooler
stamps- Sassy and Crafty (Girl Power set)
ink- Memento tuxedo black and Papertrey Ink hibiscus burst and lovely lady
Trinity Stamps slimline stitched card panels die
Trinity Stamps slimline scalloped card panels die
Sharpie extra fine white pen
Wink of Stella clear glitter pen
Sakura stardust glitter pen
Doodlebug Sprinkles
Copic markers:
girl 1
skin- BV01, YR000, E50, E53, E34, R01, R02
hair- C6, C8, C10
eyes- YG93, E84, E87, E89
clothes- Y02, Y18, Y26, RV02, RV23, RV14, RV13, RV29, 0, E50, E81, E84, C1, C2, C3, N2
girl 2
skin- E000, E00, E11, E04, R00, R20
hair- E50, E51, E42, E55
eyes- BG02, BG18, B39
clothes- BG32, BG34, BG18, Y11, Y02, Y18, Y21, Y0000, Y00
girl 3
skin- BV02, E21, E23, E25
hair- E74, E77, E79, W10
eyes- E33, E57, E49
clothes- B93, B95, B99, FV2, B79, BV08
sky- B0000, B00, B01
sidewalk- T1, T2, T3, T5
grass- YG01, YG03, YG63, G43, G94
trees- YG21, YG41, YG45, RV52, RV32

Friendship...

Hello there!

Happy Saturday to all! I'm making sure I don't forget to share the finished card from my second Hello Bluebird Live coloring that I did last week. Admittedly I went a little crazy with the scene building on this one but once an idea pops into my head I just can't stop myself. This time around I paired elements from a mix of new and olds sets including, Picked For You, Pathway Background, Strawberry Jam and a slightly altered Tabitha. By wiping away the broom from Tabitha's hand she easily transforms from a Halloween stamp to a sweet friend for this Picked for You cutie. Together they are spending the day picnicing in the park with their favorite feline friends. 
The restock on the newest release stamps is due very soon so I would think those pre-orders will be shipping in no time. In the meantime, grab the HB sets already in your collection and see if you can think of a new spin to put on them. :)

Stay crafty my friends!    

Supply list:
cardstock-  Papertrey Ink and Catherine Pooler
stamps- Hello Bluebird (Picked For You, Tabitha, Pathway Background, Strawberry Jam and Storybook Friends)
ink- Memento rich cocoa 
My Favorite Things A2 stitched rectangle stax set 1
Sharpie extra fine white pen
Copic markers:
sorry I didn't keep track but you can find the colors used here

Oh happy day...

Hello there!

I'm taking a minute on this fine Sunday morning to share the finished card from my first Hello Bluebird Live coloring that I did this past Tuesday. I paired elements from several of the new release sets to create this scene, including Meadow Bunnies, Besties and Picked For You. Because of the amazingly quick sell out on release day these are all on pre-order and will be back in stock at the end of the month. One of the things I love most about Hello Bluebird stamps is how well the images in the various sets can be mixed and matched to create entirely new stories. The stand of birch trees is so versatile and when paired with the big fluffy cloud in the Besties set you get a whole other look, it's the little things like that which I just geek out over. So now I had the perfect meadow for these two cuties to relax and while away the day in. I kept the color palette fresh and spring inspired since I tend to work seasonally but I can definitely see this looking just as good all decked out for fall as well. :)

Toodles!    

Supply list:
cardstock- My Favorite Things and Catherine Pooler
stamps- Hello Bluebird (Meadow Bunnies,  Picked For You and Besties)
ink- Memento rich cocoa 
Hello Bluebird Gallery Frame #4 die
Copic markers:
sorry I didn't keep track but you can see the colors used here
 

It will be okay...

Hello, hello!

Today is the big day at Hello Bluebird and all of the new stamps will be available for purchase in the Hello Bluebird store at 7 pm MST. There is still one more chance to win a gift certificate over on the Hello Bluebird blog so be sure to head over there as well. My card today features a pair of forest friends from the new Besties set and once again I've inked up the Pathway background for them to be strolling along. This time around I chose not to ink up the large clouds that are part of the background so that I had room to color in this pretty sunset sky. It's a simple trick to get even more mileage out of this versatile stamp. Something about this little bunny and bear walking off into the distance had me going in a rather emotional direction, especially when I chose this particular sentiment from the Besties set too. It's certainly a message I think we all want to hear right now. :)

And are you ready for a complete 180? LOL, on a much brighter note I've also got a fun Easter card to share using the new Little Painters set which is actually a free gift with any purchase over $100 while supplies last. I paired these busy bunnies with the older Spring Banner Script set for a colorful greeting just in time for the celebration this weekend.   


Happy stamping!

 

Supply list:
cardstock- Bazzill and Catherine Pooler
stamps- Hello Bluebird (Besties set and Pathway background)
ink- Memento rich cocoa
Copic markers:
sky- Y000, YR0000, YR000, R00, RV42, RV91, RV93
tree/bushes- G43, G94, BG99, Y000, E44, E47, E79
path/grass- E71, E74, E77, E79, G82, G94, YG95, YG97, YG99
rocks/flower- C2, W5, W6, RV95, RV99
bear/sweater- E55, E57, E79, Y11, Y21, Y26, Y28, E47
bunny/sweater- W1, W3, W5, W6, V91, V93, V95, V99 

Supply list:
cardstock- Bazzill and Catherine Pooler
stamps- Hello Bluebird (Little Painters set and Spring Banner Script set)
ink- Memento rich cocoa
Hello Bluebird Gallery Frame #2 die
Ranger glossy accents
Copic markers:
chick- Y11, Y21, Y26, BV31, R30, YR15, YR07
bunnies- E40, E42, BV31, W00, R000, R30, Y02, Y21, Y26, RV10, RV21, RV14
grass- YG01, YG03, YG25, YG17, YG63, YG67
sky- BG0000, BG000, BG53, Y0000, Y000, 0
painter's palette/brushes- E41, E53, E43, E55, Y18, V01, V12, RV02, RV13, BG000, BG02, YG01, YG03
trees- RV52, RV55
egg- C00, C0, C1, W2