Me Time

Summer time is Crazy Time.  Tuesday I had six grands here.  Wednesday only three which seemed like a breeze from the day before.  Hahaha.  Really I am very blessed to have so many living close by and actually wanting to come to G and G's house.  I took the chance for some "me time" while the three were outside playing  and colored up this beautiful digital image by Power Poppy.  I added a digital butterfly (qualification for this month's Power Poppy challenge).

I used the MFT sketch:

The green frame is cut with my Silhouette.
Image colored with Copics 

Challenges:
Power Poppy - add a bug
Joy Clair - anything
7 Kids - anything
Stamploration - CAS

Simon Wednesday - anything
MFT - sketch 
Word Art Wednesday - anything

Strong Coffee

Coffee must be hot and strong.  Especially decaf.  Why do so many people make decaf coffee weaker than caffinated coffee?  (Just a little mini-rant.  I'm over it.)
A fun Summery coffee card using Verve digital image and sentiment.

Capitalizing on the flower on the cup, I used a Spellbinder embossing folder, rubbing just a hint of yellow ink on it first before running it through my Cuttlebug.
I printed the cup image four times so I could fussy cut some of the flowers and add them coming out of the cup.  I cut one blue leaf with an Elizabeth Crafts Design die.  The sentiment is cut with MFT Stitched Rectangles and the yellow backing was cut with a Die-namics Rectangle Stax die.

Challenges:
All Sorts - flower power
ScrapyLand - emboss
Joy Clair - anything
7 Kids - anything
Coffee Lovers Bloghop 
Simon Wednesday -  anything 

Another Brew-tiful Day

Here is another card with that cut die by Stamploration that I used on the last card posted :

The digital image of the cup is by Maxam Made.  I stamped and colored the daisies (stamps by GKD) then adhered the fussy cut cup so the daisies were behind the cup.
When I printed the cup, I changed the setting so I would end up with a brown instead of black.  Love how it turned out.
Here is a tip I gave a while back:  when fussy cutting a cup, cut the handle off the cup, cut out the white part, then glue the handle back on.  Presto - no white part between the handle and the cup to block out background.
Thanks for looking.


Challenges:
Coffee Lovers Bloghop
All Sorts - flower power
Word Art Wednesday - anything
Joy Clair - anything
7 Kids - anything
Cardz TV - anything
Mailbox Smiles - anything
Stamploration Anything - use Stamploration product

A Brew-tiful Day

Another coffee card - this one using a digital image by JessicaLynn and a fun die by Stamploration.

I really love how this turned out.  I colored the cup and flowers with Copics.  When searching through my stash, I found this sheet of patterned paper - same color as the cup.  I wanted a different butterfly than the one in the drawing so I covered it with one I made with a punch.  The beautiful circle die cut is from the Spellbinder Stately Lace set.  I printed out another image a  little bit smaller than the first so I could fussy cut a flower and add it to the circle.
Don't you love the sentiment - the die by Stamploration?  I cut it out of green vellum.
Thanks for looking.

Challenges:
Coffee Lovers Bloghop
Poppy Power - use a bug
Joy Clair - anything
7 Kids - anything
Simon Wednesday - use patterned paper
All Sorts - flower power
Word Art Wednesday - anything
Stamploration Anything Goes

Cutplorations - photo inspired (edges on the bowls)

It's Coffee Lovers Time !

A few days ago I was thinking it must be time for the Coffee Lovers Blog hop and now here it is.  I always love it - so many fun and beautiful ideas.  I'm not sure how many cards I will be able to enter (lots of yard work to do) but I already put my hours in this morning so I can play in my craft room during the hottest part of the day.
Here is my first card:

Digital image of cups was a freebie in one of the previous Coffee Lovers Bloghop.   Last time I used it, I paper pieced each cup but this time I practiced my copic coloring.  The pink flower is Verve, stamped, colored, then fussy cut.  I added Elizabeth Crafts Designs Jasmine flowers with brad centers (easier to mail)and leaves and the tiny pink flowers are made with a punch.  Liquid Pearls was added to the centers of all the pink flowers.  Oval is ECD Stitched Oval.
Here is the sketch that I used, changing the rectangle to an oval.

Challenges:
MFT - sketch
Word Art Wednesday - anything
Coffee Lovers Bloghop
Joy Clair - anything
7 Kids College Fund - anything
Crop Stop - anything 
 

CAS Birthday Card

Single layer CAS cards are not my thing.  I don't usually like what I come up with, so even adding two colors for backings, I'm still not jazzed about it.  Thankfully I have four weeks before this daughter's birthday to decide if I will give this card or make a different one.  What do you think? (Be nice. LOL)

The stamp is Altenew Fresh Freesia.  The sentiments are from the Altenew Beautiful Lady set.
Coloring is Copics.  I stamped some green and pink on some of the corners and edges with a Joy Clair stamp from the Ink Splatter set.
Thanks for looking (and commenting).

Challenges:
Altenew - photo inspiration
Crop Stop - anything ( scorepal, Mono Adhesive)
Joy Clair - anything
7 Kids - anything (Altenew stamp set, Copics)
Stamploration - stamps and family theme
Stamploration - CAS

Making His Mark

Another birthday card done - yeah!  This one for a grandson.

I love this image of the little boy.  The artist must have used my grandson as a model - thick hair, his favorite clothes, and loves stocking feet.
Not too many things to explain for this card.  After printing and coloring the image with Copics, I printed out a numeral 1 to use as a cutting template.  The 0 is made with  two Spellbinder ovals.  Happy Birthday is a Memory Box die.  Red designer paper used for the 0 has embossed stars - great for a birthday.

Thanks for looking.

Challenges:
7 Kids - anything
Joy Clair - anything
Simon Monday - texture
Cardz TV - anything
Mailbox Smiles - anything
Scrapy Land - anything with die
Cuttlebug - male
Send a Smile 4 Kids - anything 
Stamploration - family member

Prairie Flowers

I could hardly wait to play with my new Power Poppy digital stamps after I downloaded them.  It was fun to color this one, Pure Prairie Bouquet,  in different color combinations. ( I have no idea what some of these flowers are so I just imagined what color they should be! ☺)

I embossed a piece of Kraft with a Cuttlebug Wood Grain embossing folder.  The word "prairie" in the name made me think rustic so after embossing the Kraft, I distressed the edges and then used a rust orange piece of card stock for the scalloped backing.  Both the image and the scallops were cut with Spellbinder dies, Ovals and Scallops.

Thanks for looking.

Challenges:
Simon Monday - texture
Cardz TV - anything
Mailbox Smiles - anything
All Sorts - 2 or more dies
Scrapy Land - anything with die
Power Poppy - include a bug
Joy Clair - anything
7 Kids - anything (copics, Spellbinder dies, Tim Holtz Distress ink)
Simon Wednesday - emboss

Carnations, Pinks, Sweet Williams

Diantus - carnations, Pinsk, Sweet Williams.  I love them all.  Such a sweet scent and easy to grow.  For this card I used a Carnation from a Penny Black clear stamp set.
Some of the other products I used can be found at the Dies R Us Store.

I started with embossing a piece of white card stock using the Darice Quatrefoil Double embossing folder.   After embossing, I very softly sponged a bit of Celery Green onto the raised portions of the embossed panel.
After coloring the carnation with copics, I cut it out using Elizabeth Crafts Designs Stitched Ovals,
tracing and hand cutting the pink layer and then cutting out the green oval with another ECD oval in the set.

The last die I used is the Cheery Lynn Fanciful Flourish.

That is is for today.  Thanks for looking. 

You can play along at the Dies R Us Challenge Blog for your chance to win a gift voucher to the Dies R Us Store.  A new challenge begins on the first and fifteenth of every month.

Challenges: 
Cardz TV - anything 
Mailbox Smiles - anything 
All Sorts Challenge - 2 or more dies 
Scrapy Land - anything with die 
Time Out - photo inspiration 
Word Art Wednesday - anything 
Power Poppy - add a bug
7 Kids - anything 
Joy Clair - anything

Beary Cute Digis

Working away on the birthday cards that I need to get done in the next few weeks.  Cards for my son in laws are the hardest.  I remembered this adorable digi set in my files so I pulled it out and made up a fun card for my SIL's July birthday.

 The embossing folder is Darice.  I used two circle dies from the Die-namics Stax set.  Sentiment is cut with a Spellbinder die. 
The image is pre-colored.  The company, Clear Dollar Stamps,  is no longer in business.
For the inside I used a digital tree frame by Dragon Lair Designs and put the sentiment (from the bear set) inside.   Cute?!  Such an easy card but I love how it turned out.

Thanks for looking.

Challenges:
Simon Says Monday  - masculine
Simon Says Wednesday - masculine
Cardz TV #3 - anything
Mailbox Smiles #3 - anything
Scrapy Land - anything with die
Cuttlebug - frame it
Joy Clair - anything
7 Kids - anything
Stamploration CAS - optional masculine

Double Pocket Card

Here is a fun idea combining a card and two bookmarks.  I think I have only made two of these in all the years of card making.  Because I skipped the yard work today due to rain, I thought I would take time to make something a little out of the ordinary.  Here is a great tutorial video to explain how to make one of these cards.

The paper I used is Heidi's Hearts by Fiskars.  It worked perfectly because the backside of the paper is a shimmery, almost metallic white and the little red and green dots on the front are like little embossed pearls.
The bookmarks are made with Bugaboo prints colored with Copics and Prisma pencils.

The sentiment on the bookmark on the right is from an Altenew stamp set.
Butterfly is Birch Press.  I used a Copic on the center part to make it a shade darker than the card stock it is cut from and then I added a green pearl.

Thanks for looking.

Challenges:

Cut It Up - die and tutorial
Word Art Wednesday - anything
Deep Ocean - shaped cad, pearls, die cut
Power Poppy - add a bug
Joy Clair - anything
7 Kids - anything
Score Pal - more than one score and ribbon
Mailbox Smiles - anything

Boys Birthday Cards

July is card month in our family - 7 birthdays and 2 anniversaries.  Definitely time to start on them.  Here is the first for a grandchild turning four who is in love with baseball (and already amazing).   I printed this image (by Dearie Dolls) in two sizes.  Not sure which card I like the best.  I will keep one and send the second one on to Send A Smile 4 Kids.

The heart die is from an unnamed company die set. 
The papers are from the "All About Boys" DCWV stack. The rust colored one has embossed stars.
Sentiment is Unity.
Sketch:

Challenges:
Joy Clair - anything
7 Kids - anything
Simon Monday - masculine
Simon Wednesday - masculine
CardzTV - anything
Mailbox Smiles - anything
Send A Smile 4 Kids - for a child
Deep Ocean - sentiment, stitching, die cuts
MFT - sketch
Stamploration - theme = family member

How Rich I Am

Many years ago I was visiting with a man who was very well off financially but had just gone through a divorce and who was estranged from his son.  At the time I had been married thirty years, had six children, three of which were in college with GPA's of 3.8 and higher.  (He would joke about that by calling my children by their GPA instead of their names). All my kids were doing well in school, jobs, and relationships with us.  This man told me, "I know you are barely making it financially, but you are one of the richest persons I know. "  That has stuck with me and I know it is true.  He didn't even know how rich because he was unaware of my spiritual blessings and riches in Jesus Christ.  "No eye has seen, no ear has heard and no one’s heart has imagined all the things that God has prepared for those who love him.” 1 Corinthians 2:9
Sometimes I like to let my children know that they are my treasures by making a card and telling them how much they mean to me, how proud I am of them.

The die set I used for the house is Elizabeth Crafts Designs Holiday House.  The clouds are Memory Box Puffy Clouds.  For the grass I used a MFT Icicle die.  The sentiment is Unity.
This is one of the cards I am showcasing on the Dies R Us Inspirational Blog.  It would be great if you would give it a view and then go to the Dies R Us challenge blog to  play along.

Thanks for looking.

Challenges:
Crop Stop - anything
Joy Clair - anything
7 Kids - anything
Simon Wednesday - anything
Cardz TV - anything
Mailbox Smiles - anything
Word Art Wednesday - anything

A Tweet Day

Now that I color with Copics I don't use too many pre-colored digital images but sometimes it is fun (and easy) to use one.  Both the image and sentiment are by companies which are no longer in business.

The multicolor spots is a strip of patterned paper.

Sketch:

Thanks for looking.

Challenges:
Simon Monday - circles
MFT - sketch
Simon Wednesday - anything
Mailbox Smiles - anything
7 Kids - anything
Joy Clair - anything
Stamploration CAS

Cardz TV - anything

Unlikely Friends

A cute image by Bugaboo and a challenging sketch at MFT.

It was fun coloring the image and grass. I cut out the image and used a die to "edge" the grass.  The tiny flowers are part of a die by Your Next Stamp.  "Hello" is MFT.
Here is the sketch that challenged me:

Thanks for looking:
Challenges:
MFT - sketch
Die Cuttin Divas - anything
Simon Wednesday - anything
CardzTV - anything
Mailbox Smiles - anything
Word Art Wednesday - anything
Time Out - flowers and friends
7 Kids - anything
Joy Clair - anything
Send Smiles 4 Kids - bright colors
MFT color challenge