Challenge 67 - In honor of Earth Day

I haven't played along with Laura's challenge at I am the Diva for several weeks now.  Sometimes life just gets too busy to do everything you want to do, because of the things you have to do.  That's how it's been for me for several weeks now.  But this week, the challenge is to use the prompt of the Earth.  I've used a round Zentangle tile - round like the earth.  I got my round "pre-strung" tiles several weeks ago, but have hesitated to use them.  Guess I was afraid I'd mess them up!  So, my take on the challenge was to create a round tile...actually, I created two tiles and then couldn't make up my mind which I liked better! 

The tile actually ends at the white edges, it just has a black background from where I scanned it.

This was the first tile I did.    I normally work on areas much larger than the standard Zentangle tile, and this round tile is even a little larger than the square tiles, I believe.  So, finding something that would "fit" was a bit of a challenge for me. 

This second tile was a bit easier, but I don't think I like it as much as I did the first one.  Although this one probably has more to do with "earth" than the first one.  See all the little seeds?  

Thanks so much for stopping in!  I appreciate all you comments and I thank you for taking the time to leave me a comment!  Until next time..

Hugs!

LIM64 - How Charming

The Less is More challenge from Chrissie and Mandi this week is to use a charm on our card.  Sounds simple...right?  Well, not so much for me.  I've rarely used a charm...on a card or on a scrapbook layout.  It's just something I've never thought I needed.  Go figure!  In fact, I don't even own a charm bracelet!  So, with these things in mind, I just had to improvise!

While digging through my stash, I came across these stamps, that I don't think I've ever inked up...so an idea was born.  Unfortunately, I don't really care for how it turned out!  My "charm" is actually a button that is playing the role of a charm!  I stamped the images on white, then stamped the middle chair again and colored it and added a bit of glitter and popped it over the stamped version.  Very plain and simple!

For my second card, I found this stamp (I believe it's PTI) and stamped it on white card stock, then decided to make it a banner, and since I don't have a banner die this shape, I just drew what I wanted and cut it out.  I colored it with Copics.  The charm on this one, is a metal embellie I found in my stash...it has a hole on the top, so maybe it is a charm!  I looped some silver cord over the banner (by cutting a slit in the curve at the top right of the pink) and slid the silver cord into the slit.  Then I knotted the cord in several places and ran the ends up through the hole in the silver "charm" and tied a bow.  I used a little pop dot to hold the charm in place.  The white background was embossed with a PTI distress embossing plate. In case you can't read it, the charm has Thank You on it.

I think the "charms" on this card are actually jewelry findings, but I'm not sure.  The butterfly is a metal embellie.  It's amazing what you can find in your stash when you're desperately looking for something!  I pulled some blue flowers from my stash, folded them and added the metal "charms" and adhered them to the card.  I added the stems with a Memento marker.  The butterfly is adhered with a pop dot.  Sentiment is  from PTI (I think).  I did this on a Kraft card base and round the bottom corners slightly.

I think this last card is my favorite...that's why I quit! LOL!  I have a granddaughter who will be 13 on Friday, so I decided to make this for her.  I used PTI number dies to cut the numbers, then drew the lines on with a black pen.  I colored the stripes with Copics, then added a layer of glossy accents, sprinkled with a little glitter. I think the "charm" on the "1" might actually be a charm! See...all that digging around and I finally found something! The numbers are also pop dotted for added dimension.   I tied the charm around the number 1 with a red ribbon.  I drew the flames for the candles, colored them with Copics, then added glossy accents with a touch of glitter sprinkled on top.  I cut very thin strips of black paper for the wicks.  I used a Sizzix embossing folder for the background, backed with a red paper. The sentiment is from PTI.  I stamped on a piece of white, then just hand cut the ends to make a banner.  Added a red layer to the sentiment, so it would pop...then pop dotted it off the embossed layer.

Got a layout finished today, too.  Thought I'd share that too.

I rarely do a two page layout, but for some reason I decided that's what I wanted to do for these photos.  The pics are five of our grandchildren on New Year's Eve 2011.  I used My Mind's Eye papers - Follow your Heart and Miss Caroline.  The "fence" was one of the papers that I just cut in half and then snipped the top edges to make it look like a fence.  The clouds were cut with a PTI cloud die, and then inked.  I also used a torn edge and inked the background "sky" with some distress ink.  The grass across the bottom was cut with a Memory Box die, inked with some distress ink and layered over the solid green (from a really old  line of paper from MME - Signature).  I cut the bicycle and kites from two different pieces of the MME paper and layered them on the layout with pop dots.  The tail of the kites was made with some DMC red floss and the bows on the kite tails were hand cut from scraps. The "bubbles" were made from a piece of iridescent vellum.  I doodled some edges and shadows on each of the bubbles.  Some of them are popped off the page with pop dots.  The title work was made by cutting 4 layers of the same image with the Cameo and layering them, using a piece cut from MME paper on the top. I added some white doodles to each letter.  I added a little poem that I found online that reads:

Bubbles floating all around, Bubbles fat and bubbles round, Bubbles on my toes and nose, Blow a bubble, up it goes. Bubbles floating all around, Bubbles falling to the ground.

Journaling is tucked behind the left photo and reads:

In an effort to find an activity to keep you all busy on New Year’s Eve 2011 while we were trying to get things ready for our get together that evening, your Grandpa pulled out our stash of bubbles. He “invented” a contest. I never figured out the rules, and you all didn’t seem bothered that the rules kept changing. (Can you believe that it’s December 31 and you all are outside barefooted, wearing shorts, and short-sleeved shirts!) Finding something that entertains everyone is sometimes difficult, but blowing bubbles kept all of you busy for …oh…at least 30 minutes! 

Bet you thought I'd never stop! Thanks so much for stopping in to visit.  I appreciate each and every one of your sweet comments!  Until next time....

Hugs!

I CASED a card and added Doodles!

I made a card yesterday that I really think turned out great.  I'm taking a class at Online Card Classes called "a cut above" and this card is cased from one of the cards they showed us how to do.  I didn't think I'd ever take a card class...but I'm really loving the classes from Online Card Classes.  I recently took the Tim Holtz Creative Chemistry 101 class and it was awesome!  I learned so much from that class, and it looks like I'll be learning a lot in this class too!  You can sign up for the classes here. For each of the classes, you get videos and PDF downloads, so you'll always have the information at your fingertips!  (BTW, I don't work for them...I'm just lovin' my class!) This class focuses on die cut machines, and I'm using one of the techniques we learned regarding window cards. 

Anyway, on to my card.  I had originally planned to add this to the Less is More challenge, but DUH!...the challenge is for a ONE LAYER CARD this week! (I need to pay more attention to what I'm doing!)  

Isn't this a cool card!  And...I added tangles! I used Papertrey Ink stamps to stamp the hot air balloons, then I filled in the balloons with different tangles.  It looked kind of plain with just the tangles, so I decided to add some color.  I rarely have added color to any of my tangles, but for these hot air balloons, I  definitely thought they need color.  I used watercolor pencils and add some shading, and then my water brush to move the color around a bit.  The dark blue layer is adhered to the card front, then the light blue layer is popped on top of that, with the white layer popped on top of the light blue.  I used graduating sizes of the Spellbinder square die to make the openings and embossed the edges while it was still in the die.  The sentiment is from Hero Arts.  I know it sounds complicated, but it was SO super easy!  I pop dotted the large balloon and the medium sized one and the small one is adhered straight to the blue background!

Thanks so much for stopping by!  I appreciate all your visits and your wonderful comments! Until next time....

Hugs!

LIM 63 - We Get to DOODLE!!

The Less is More challenge is to create a one layer card using Doodling.  Per Chrissie and Mandi, This can be in any form we want including faux stitching, hand written or drawn elements on your card, and zentangle. Anything goes as long as we create something with 'ink' by hand.  Those of you who follow my blog and visit frequently, know how much I love Zentangles!  So I couldn't wait to get started on my card(s) for this week.  Yep, that's right, I didn't just make one card...I have four cards to show you.  

Let's get started...

For my first card, I decided to use a Hero Arts flower stamp that I've had forever, but rarely used.  I stamped the image in black ink then filled in all the petals with some tangles.  I added some shading with a pencil and a little smudging.  This card would have been perfect, if I'd just managed to get the sentiment stamped straight!  Sentiment is from PTI.

For my second card, I decided to draw an image and added a little color.  I drew the flowers with a black fine tip pen, then colored the image with Memento markers.  The sentiment is from PTI.

This third card is similar to the first card, in that I tangled in an image, but I wanted it to be a bit different, so here's what I did.  I stamped the image in Memento black, then stamped it again on paper and cut it out to make a mask.  I put the mask over the image, then made a square around the image with post it notes, covering part of the image so that it would "hang" off the edges of the inked square.  I sponged some DI - wild honey and barn door around the edges.  The image is from Flourishes as is the word "peach".  After sponging the color around the image, I pealed off the masks and added tangles to my peaches.  I added a little shading with a pencil.  The leaves and stems I colored with Memento markers.  I drew a black line around the sponged background, then added another frame and filled it in with tangles.  The word "peach" is stamped in black.  Not sure what I'll use this card for, but I'm sure I'll think of something.

My last card is just a sentiment and some doodles.  I stamped the sentiment (from PTI) first and then added my tangles around the sentiment.  I added a little blue Copics and graphic for shading.

Needless to say, I've spent most of the day in my craft room playing.  Here's a layout I finished this afternoon.

Details:  Photo of me and my brothers taken in Fitzgerald, Ga, sometime around 1955. I used MME Follow Your Heart - Be Happy papers for this layout. I cut the hexagons from one of the papers. The title tag was cut with a Spellbinder die. To add a backing, I traced around the outside edge of the die I used for the title, and then hand cut the backing. The light piece is pop dotted on the backing. The title work was cut with the Cameo. Butterflies were punched with a MS punch, except for the big butterfly on the left...I used a Memory box die for that butterfly. I did a lot of inking on this layout, and use TH distress ink - tea dye. I staggered the hexagons I cut from the ppr and added them to the layout. I also sponged each of the hexagons with tea dye ink and added a little faux stitching to each of them before adhering. The edges of the teal background was punched with a MS border punch. I added a little faux stitching around the edges and some perfect pearls to each scallop. The big butterfly has a sparkle, you might not be able to tell, but I colored him with a clear star Sakura pen. I also used a TH hexagon stamp to add a little stamping to the top and bottom right side. The little strip border on the bottom was cut from some of the ppr. I made buttons by adhering some of the ppr to the back of clear buttons and then tying some jute through the buttons. The little bird was cut out from the ppr. I also used a scallop punch under the music strip. I added a few random butterflies around the page...and journaling behind the striped mat with the pearls on the strip which is adhered to one of the hexagons. Journaling reads: 

This photo of me and my brothers was taken at Ellis and Mary Wynn’s house in Fitzgerald Georgia around 1955 (or it could have been 1956). I would have been about 4 ½ or 5 when this was taken. Our family would often go up on a Saturday or Sunday for a day visit. We called the Wynn’s, Uncle Ellis and Aunt Mary. They were an important part of your Grandpa Perdue’s life after his mother died when he was a teenager. Uncle Ellis always played practical jokes and loved to laugh. Aunt Mary always had something good to eat -- ready and waiting for us when we got there. I remember lots of good times visiting with Uncle Ellis and Aunt Mary. They only had one son, Lamar. I think you all might remember him. They’re all gone now, but I’ll never forget them. Those visits were some special times for my brothers and me. 

Bet you thought I'd never finish! LOL!  That's all for me today! Loved the LIM challenge this week...in fact, I might just make another card or two before the week is over! Thanks a bunch for stopping by! Your comments are greatly appreciated!!  Until next time...

Hugs!

LIM62 - A Little Green...

It's time for a new challenge at Less is More.  This week Chrissie and Mandi have given us a color challenge, which is to use at least three different shades of green on a card.  I had a little free time this afternoon, so I got my cards finished in record time!

Last week was so hectic that I didn't get my cards posted until Thursday, so I'm really early this week!

For my first card, I stamped leaves from SU French Foliage collection in two shades of green (peeled paint and shabby shutters DI) on a piece of light green card stock. Then I backed it with a dark green card stock.  The tag was stamped (on the same light green as the leaves) with a PTI sentiment in peeled paint and then cut out with a Spellbinder die.  I punched a hole in the tag and wrapped the ribbon around the two layers of green and brought both ends up through the hole and tied a knot.  I really like how this turned out.

Chrissie and Mandi, you might think that this next card is not CAS enough, but I kind of like how it turned out.  I used a MB window and window box die.  The siding is just strips of green card stock that I inked the edges and then overlapped the edges like siding on a house.  The flowers are also MB dies.  I colored the window box with Copics as well as the flowers.  The curtains were made by gathering a piece of ribbon for the top and then making some of the ribbon swag down the sides of the window.  Window box is pop dotted as is the window.  The sentiment is from Flourishes and is stamped in peeled paint.

This next card was made by masking off a section with post it notes and inking with peeled paint distress ink.  The grass is a PTI stamp as is the sentiment.  The butterfly is a Spellbinder die that is layered. The body of the butterfly is part of the MB die set.  I also added some green stickles to the butterfly.

This last card was just an afterthought, and I'm not sure I should have posted it.  I used a Paper Smooches chevron stamp to stamp in peeled paint, then used my Copics to color in the different greens.  Sentiment is from PTI.  Super quick and simple card.


I also finished a layout last night, and thought I'd share it tool

Photo of my dgc, Allen, Helen Grace, and Pierce. My son took this photo with his cell phone and I think it's a great pic of the three of them. I used Echo Park - This and That for this layout. The butterfly is a Memory Box die. The "stars" were printed and cut out with the Cameo, then I colored them with Copics and added some glitter to the edges. The banner is just strips of the patterned paper. I punched the "v" out of each end with a square punch. I made the photo corner by cutting several of the same corners and layering them for dimension. The banner on the bottom was cut in one long strip, then I folded it on each end to make it have more dimension. I did quite a bit of faux stitching with a pen, and the stitching on the banner tags was done by piercing the paper and connecting the holes with a black pen. The little diamond strip under the photo was cut from the patterned paper using a circle punch ...super simple! I added a few dots of liquid pearls. Title word is some Thickers from my stash. Journaling is tucked behind the photo and reads: 

In March 2012, your Mama had just started her new job . For the first several months of her job, she had to travel each week to a different city to complete her training. She would usually fly out on Sunday and fly home every Friday. Your Daddy spent the week working and taking care of you all (and Uncle Thomas came over sometimes during the week to help out). On Fridays, your Daddy would pick you up from daycare so that all of you could go to the airport to welcome your Mama home. One Friday, you were a little early getting to the airport, so your Daddy took you to the park to let you play for a little while. While he was there, he snapped this picture of the three of you with his cell phone, and sent me a copy of the photo. This is such a great picture of the three of you! Just look at those happy faces! 

Thanks so much for stopping by!  Maybe this week will be calmer and I can get around to visit all the other fab entries in this challenge!  I truly appreciate your comments...just what I need to brighten my day!  Until next time...

Hugs!

LIM61 - Lucky Dip - Inspiration Challenge

I'm running late again!    Time just seems to slip through my fingers these days.  It's been a busy and hectic week and I'm totally exhausted!

Last weekend, we had my daughter and her three children visiting...here's a photo I took while they were here.  Actually, I think I must have taken about 200 pics while they were here...but I'll just show you one of them! LOL!  I'm sure I'm just a bit biased...but aren't they just beautiful!

My daughter and her children left to go home on Sunday. On Monday, I had a dental appointment (I had to have some oral surgery to removed two teeth and will soon be having implants! ouch!).  On Tuesday, we drove 6 hours to visit with my Mama.  Mama was 87 on April 3, and we went up to be with her on her birthday and to take her to dinner.  We've recently moved her into an assisted living facility so that she will have assistance when she needs it.  It's so difficult to make these kind of decisions, but we'll all be there one day! We spent Thursday driving back home...and I am exhausted!

Anyway...on to the challenge.  This is the photo we used as inspiration for our card.  

I made all three of these cards in a bit of a rush...so I can't say that I'm thrilled with any of them.  I tried to get it all together on Monday afternoon after my dental appointment, but just didn't have the time to get them posted.

For this first card, I used Flourishes Gerber Daisy stamp.  I stamped the image on white card stock, then colored the blooms.  I stamped it again on white card stock, colored with Copics and cut out some of the blooms.  The stems were stamped directly on the white card base.  Then I layered the oval cut piece (that was stamped and colored) on a piece of pink card stock and adhered it to the card base.  Then I just pop dotted the cut out blooms on top of the oval colored piece.  It really has a great 3-D effect.  The sentiment is also from Flourishes.

I had stamped the smaller version of the daisies from the same set and cut it out in an oval also.  I had this card base that I'd scored in my "maybe I'll use this later bin" and decided it would be a good backdrop for the small oval.  I sponged some pink ink around the image while it was still in the die.  I figured I could put a sentiment banner on it before I send it out.  Very plain and simple....

Also on Monday when I was skipping around from thought to thought trying to come up with something for the challenge, I decided to punch out some pink blooms from just plain textured pink card stock.  The stems and leaves were cut free hand from some old Graphic 45 scraps from my scrap bin.  The sentiment is from PTI.  I added a little doodling to the blooms and stems, and also inked the edges lightly with a little light brown ink.  I tied a pink bow to hold my blooms together.  The center of the large flower was a punched circle that I pop dotted over the center and added glossy accents for a little shine. I actually finished this card just this morning from the "thoughts" I had on Monday.

Sorry I haven't been around to visit all your beautiful creations this week.  I have hopes to get by some time today!

Thanks so much for stopping by! Your comments are always welcomed and appreciated! Until next time...

Hugs!