Beautiful Poppies

The current challenge on the Unity Stamps Facebook

page "Unity Show & Tell" is to do some water coloring.

                      I love to use my Zig Clean Color pens to watercolor.  

                                   The colors are so vibrant. Here is what 

I came up with, following this sketch from Stamp Nation.

I used the poppy stamp from the Unity Septemeber 2017

kit of the month called "Flowers, Foilage & Fall".

I love poppies when we go to see my Mom in Colorado

there are poppies all over the place.

I used 3 colors on the poppies, a red, an orange and a yellow

then blended it out with an aqua brush.  I added some

very pale blue to the background, it looks much better

in person, the picture makes it look much darker than it is.

I hope you like my card.

Challenges entered:

Crafty Addicts - anything goes optional flowers - ends 7/3

Simon Says Stamp - anything goes - ends 7/4

Creative Moments - anything goes - ends 7/9

Hello, today I have a couple cards to share with you 

that came from 2 different sheets of 

K & Company paper from the Floral Dreams stack.  This is one

of my favorite K&Company stacks. 

Here is the first of the two cards.

 I made this card following a sketch, so when I cut the two pieces

of background paper on an angle, I thought well I may as

well, make another card right way with the other 2 pieces.

This one I used a couple Gina K stamps, for the flowers and the sentiment.

I colored the flowers with my Copic markers and die cut them out

using a Spellbinder die.

And here is the second one using those leftover papers.

I stamped the flower using a Stampin Up stamp and

then colored it using my Zig Clean Color pens.  The flower and the

circle sentiment was cut using a Gina Marie die.

I really like the way both of these turned out.  I am thinking this may be a great

idea to mass produce some Christmas cards this year.  I think I may

have to make a couple soon so I don't forget.

Thanks for stopping to take a peak.

Well HELLO Dahlia

Hi, I have a nice Spring colors card to share with you

today.  I created this card using the colors from

the challenge on the PowerPoppy blog called

Hues to Use.

I made this card following a sketch challenge I do at the
Crafting Circle, I thought it worked great for this image.
The image is a digital image from PowerPoppy called
Hello Dahlia and is a set with 3 images and 2 sentiments.
I printed the image twice and colored it with my Zig Clean Color
brush markers.  The larger flower I colored twice then hand cut it out
and popped it on top to add some dimension to the image.

New Hues to Use go up every Tuesday at the PowerPoppy blog
but the link always stays open so you can post anytime.
There are several different challenges going on all the time
at PowerPoppy even one that has a $50 prize to shop in
the Power Poppy store.  So head on over and check them out.

Hot & Spicy - Color Challenge

What a fun challenge this is.  Over at Less is More color challenge

this time the colors are "hot & spicy".  As soon as I saw this I knew exactly what

stamp I wanted to use. 

We recently took a trip over to Hatch New Mexico to pick up some chile

peppers (they are the best from there), once you see those strings of

red chile you know that Fall is here.

First off this challenge is all about simple or less is more as the

name states so I kept these cards as simple as possible. 

The string of chiles is a stamp from Mark's Finest Stamps, I bought this several years ago with the intention to use it on a Christmas card.  Living in Arizona I thought it worked well.

I colored the chiles with my Zig Clean Color brush markers, I tried

to leave some yellow showing but got a little too heavy handed with the red but it still looks good.  The Merry Christmas is a Hero Arts stamp

that I stamped in black and then heat embossed clear.

The second one I wanted to try and add a little more sparkle or elegance

to it, so I stamped it and heat embossed it in gold. I colored this

one using several Copic markers.

I fussy cut out the peppers but am going to work on trying to

scan in the image and cut it out with my Cricut Explore or Silhouette Cameo.

I would like to mass produce these so it would be very helpful if I can

get that figured out.

So what do you think, is that Hot & Spicy enough for you.

Leave me a comment and let me know which you like better.

I am so sad to say that when I went to link up Mark's Finest Stamps I

discovered that they have closed, such a shame but glad I

have the stamps I do have.

Challenges entered:

Less is More - hot & spicy colors - ends 10/13

Aurora Winds - clean & simple - ends 10/14

Color Inspiration - hand-colored image - ends 10/31

Scrapbook Stamp Society - anything goes optional Autumn - ends 10/22

Bugaboo Tulip Blocks

Hello, it is time again for the BugaBoo Crafty Challenge over

at the Crafting Circle.  The challenges starts on the 15th

of each month and runs for a month so you have

plenty time to join in.

You need to use a Bugaboo image for this challenge but that

should not be a problem as all the images are adorable, plus

there is always a Friday Freebie. 

This month I chose to work with a 4 square 

Tulip Block.

I printed the image on Strathmore Bristol paper and colored it using my

Zig Clean Color pens and water.  I cut the center of the green panel using

a Gina Marie in and out dies.   The die is pretty cool as it cuts out a piece that has

a dotted border and then leaves behind and "window" with a dotted border. 

And that is my card, so you have have plenty time to come on over and

join in at the Bugaboo Crafty Challenge 

Challenges entered:

DigiChooseDay - anything goes - ends 8/29

LemonShortbread - anything goes - ends 8/27

Stamp Art Papel - anything goes - ends 8/22

A Very Large Poppy

Hi, I have a couple cards to share with you today that are using the

same stamp.  The poppy stamp is from IndiGo Blu and is very large.

The first one I stamped and heat embossed in black on watercolor

paper and then let the water and my Zig Clean Color do the

magic and work together.

The colors look so much brighter in person.  After it was all colored I

hand cut around it and then pop dotted it onto black card stock.  I mounted

the whole thing onto some salmon colored card stock to pick up some of the colors from the poppy.

The second card was also stamped onto watercolor paper and this time heat embossed in gold.  I am not real wild about it embossed in gold as there is so

much detail on this stamp that you just lose some of the definition.

Ths one I colored using Ken Oliver Color Burst powders.   I think I will have to try this again using a different color embossing.  I like to heat emboss when I use

water and watercolor as it somewhat contains the colors when they flow. 

I stamped the birthday wishes then cut them using a Gina Marie die and pop mounted them.

Well thanks for stopping by and checking out my two cards using the same stamp

but with totally different looks.

Challenges entered:

Pink Gem Challenges - birthday wishes - ends 8/17

Crafty Friends - anything goes - ends 8/24

Scrappers Delight - anything goes - ends 8/21

Beautiful You Flowers

Hi I have a shaped card to share with you today.

I love how it turned out.

I set up the cut file in Cricut Design space and cut it out with my Explore.

I then used temporary adhesive and stacked the 3 white pieces and stamped them

with stamps from the Catherine Pooler "Beautiful You" stamp set.

I stamped and heat embossed in white then using a technique I learned from

I thought from Laurel Beard but I could not find it to link it here.

Anywho, I randomly scribbled down colors I wanted to use then liberally sprayed it with water and let the colors move and blend on their own.

I then layered the white pieces onto the matted pink layer.

And that is it, hope you like my card, would love to hear your thoughts.

Hugs & Happy Thoughts

It is that time again for a new challenge over at the

Crafty Awesomeness Challenge.

Here is my project I created using a Unity Stamp from

the "Remembering You Blooms" and background

paper from A Bit More Time to Craft.

I was able to combine both my 1st of the month DT projects into one,

love when that happens.

I stamped the flowers and heat embossed them in gold, then watercolored them 

with a combination of Catherine Pooler Inks and my Zig Clean Color markers.

I backed the image using an oval die from Gina Marie dies. 

I cut the tab/banner at the bottom using another Gina Marie die and stamped

it and heat embossed it in white.  I edged the pattern paper using a Fiskars

punch to give it a bit of interest.

And that's it!.  So head on over to the

Crafty Awesomeness Challenge and join in the fun.

Also, make sure you go and check out the great digital papers over

at A Bit More Time to Craft and join in the challenge there. 

Purse-nally Wish Shoe........................

..................a Happy Birthday!

Ha ha ha, I love this pun or play on words.

This card was made for the Bugaboo Crafty Challenge this month over at the Crafting Circle.  This challenge runs from the 15th of each month through

the 14th on the following month.   You must use a Bugaboo image on your

creation, but that is ok cause Jodie offers a Friday Freebie each week. 

So there is my card using this saying.  I choose this image called "Heels &Accessories" because I

knew I had a stamp with that saying on it and thought it would be perfect.

Well, wouldn't you know I could NOT find that dang stamp when I 

was making this card and I just saw it last week.  😧

Anywho, I colored the image using my Zig Clean Color markers with highlights from some glitter gel pens.  The saying I ended up using my Cricut Explore 

to write the saying with Pilot V5 Precision pens.  They work great in the Explore and I love the fine line they write with.

Hard to see in the picture but the black background is embossed

with a chevron pattern.  

So head on over to the Crafting Circle and join in the 

Bugaboo Crafty Challenge. 

Lots of Layers Birthday

Hello all, last month one of the sketches at the 

Crafting Circle message board had a bunch of layers and

elements to it.

Finally while looking through some of my digital downloads

from NitWits I found the pattern papers I wanted to use and the

card just fell right into place.

The collection from NitWits Collections that I used is called Promises. 

I love the NitWits Collections because they all coordinate.  They come with                                      many embellishments and coordinating papers. 

I just imported the pattern papers into my Cricut Design Space and

then I print and cut out the shapes the sizes I needed.

I cut a dark purple rectangle using a Gina Marie loopy die.

I stamped the Happy Birthday with a Gina K Designs stamp and then

water colored with my Zig Clean Color pens. 

I just so happened to pick up those flower stickers at Michaels a couple

days before I made this card and they were perfect!

Well, that's it, thanks for stopping by.

Challenges entered:

Crafting with Attitude - anything goes - ends 3/26

Little Miss Muffet - anything goes - ends 4/6

Crafty Girls Creations - anything goes - ends 3/31

Beautiful Feather Flowers

So excited to share this card.

I had just received an order of Unity Stamps ❤ that had

one stamp in that I had my eye on for a while, along with several

other sets (I know I was bad).

Then on the Unity Show & Tell Facebook page they announced the

next challenge which was to use watercolor.

I knew right away that I wanted to use the "feather" from the set called

Beautiful is Never Perfect.

I stamped it on Bristol Smooth paper and watercolored it with my

Zig Clean Color pens.

I made the card a long 8 1/2 by 4 inches, so I cut along one

edge of the Briston paper using a stitched border die.  I had to run it once

and then line it up and run it through my Big Shot again and I 

DID IT, I lined it up perfectly. :)

I used one of my favorite color combinations teal and purple and matted by card.  The image panel is popped on top of the matting so

it has some dimension. I hardly make a card without popping part of it with craft foam or foam tape. 

I hope you like my card, would love to hear what you think.

Challenges entered:

Unity Show & Tell - watercolor use a Unity stamp - ends 4/3
Southern Gals - Pop with foam - ends 3/22
Through the Purple Haze - anything goes - ends 3/22
Crafting With Attitude - anything goes - ends 3/26
Crafty Girls Creations - anything goes - ends 3/31
The Flower Challange - must use a flower - ends 3/25

No Line Coloring

Hi, lately in the "coloring" world no line coloring is

all the rage.  I have to admit I love the look of it, but not

very good at it.

So over at Power Poppy this month the challenge is......

"Say YES to NO lines"

I had to give it a try using Power Poppy image 

Tulips in a Hobnail Pitcher.  I printed it on my printer

but changed the lines to print in very light gray, probably 

too light cause it was hard to see.

I have to admit I kind of messed up, mostly on the leaves.  

All in all, though I do like the color palette and once I put it together on

a card it didn't look too bad.

I colored it using my Zig Clean Color pens on Strathmore Bristol smooth

paper, I like this paper for Zig coloring. 

I then cut out the oval using a Gina Marie die in the middle of my

checked paper.  Love this set of dies cause after you cut out the center

you also have a stitched oval piece to use.  I mounted that whole panel on craft fun foam to raise it off the base.  The circle I cut using my Cricut and then

stamped with a stamp from CTMH.  I used Catherine Pooler's Tiara ink                    and it matched the paper perfectly.  I love these inks!

Now over at Kit and Clowder this month Alyce has a class

for coloring with no lines, so after I did this I went on over and sign up                    for the class.  Maybe I will do an updated version

of this one after I have done the class, just for comparison

purposes.  I am sure it will be remarkably better as Alyce is

a fabulous teacher. 

So you have until the end of the month to join this challenge 

at Power Poppy's blog, head on over a join in.

Thanks for stopping to take a peak.

Challenges entered:

Crafting by Design - It's almost Spring - ends 2/28  

The House that Stamps Built - Anything goes - ends 2/28

Stamping Royality - use dies - ends 2/27

Unity Feathers

Hi, I have a card to share with you that I created using some

Unity Stamps.

The challenge this time on Unity's Show & Tell Facebook page

is all about feathers.

For this card I used the feathers from the Feather Soft Love set.

I had such a hard time getting a good picture of this card.

 I could not get the color to show right.  The background is a real pretty      coral like peach.

I bought it as a single sheet from Michaels and it was already embossed

with the chevron pattern, I really need to go back and see
what other colors and patterns they have.

I stamped the feathers and then heat embossed them using gold embossing

powder.  I then watercolored them using my Zig Clean Color pens, and fussy cut them out.

The sentiment is also a Unity stamp from the 

Butterflies & Sunbeams set. 

That's it, it was a fairly simple card.  Thanks for stopping by.

Challenges entered:

Heartfelt Stamping - Repeat stamping - ends - 2/26

AAA Cards - Water Coloring - ends - 3/4

Angies Digital Stamps - Anything goes - ends - 2/24

PennyBlack All Sorts - Must use a stamp - ends - 3/1

Sending Love

Hi, Valentine's Day is fast approaching so I have

a card today to share that could easily be used as a Valentine card.

This is one of the stamps that was in Unity Stamps,

  December Kit of the Month. 

I stamped it watercolor paper and watercolored her using my

 Zig Clean Color pens, I love them!

I distressed the edges, matted it and mounted on a kraft card stock base.

A pretty simple card.

Thanks for stopping by.

Challenges entered:

Addicted to Stamps - Holiday - ends 2/13

Crafting by Design - Love & Romance - ends 2/14

Crafty Creations - anything goes - ends 2/14

Midweek Magnolias - shoe some love - ends 2/14

Stella going Braless

Hi, I have a fun card to share with you today.

I made this following the sketch this week at

Catch the Bug Blog 

Stella Says Sketch.

They have a different theme challenge for each day

of the week so make sure you check it out there may be 

something there for you to play along.

I used the Bugaboo image Stella Braless

for this card.  I love the Stella images.

The saying is a stamp I had from Rubbernecker Stamps.

I printed her on Strathmore Bristol paper and colored her dress using a water brush and my Rockin Red ink pad from Catherine Pooler.  This is the first time I "watercolored" using these and inks

and it is amazing.  The color goes on sooo smooth.

I used my Zig Clean Color pens to do her hair and skin.

This was such a fun and quick card to make, I hope you enjoyed it.

Thanks for stopping by.

Challenges entered:

Catch the Bug - sketch ends 2/5

Simon Says Stamp blog - anything goes - ends 2/1

4 Crafty Chicks - watercolor - ends 1/31

Crafting With Attitude - anything goes - ends 1/29

Crimbo Crackers - something cute - ends 2/8

No Line Coloring

Hello, hope everyone is looking forward to the weekend.

Today I have a card to share with you using a Unity Stamp image

from the Steps of Courage set. 

I stamped this with Distress Ink Antique Linen to give it a 

"no line" look.  I then painted/colored it using my Zig Clean Color pens using

Light Carmine and Yellow for the flowers and blended with my

water brush. I cut out the image using Cottage Cutz stitched die.  Although you can't see it in the picture I dotted the dots around the image using the clear Gelly Roll pen.

The background paper I made using Wax Paper Resist technique. 

HERE is a video from StampTv showing the technique. 

I left off a sentiment that I will add later when I decide how to use it.

I made another a little while ago using the same process you can check out HERE if you would like. 

I did the border on the yellow panel using a Martha Stewart punch, added a few pearls and that is it. 

Thanks so much for stopping by and taking a peek at my blog.

Challenges entered:

Crafty Creations - Anything goes ends - 1/31

Fab n Funky - must use ribbon - ends 1/24

Inspiration Destination - Anything goes - ends 1/24

Kraftin Krimmies - anything goes - ends 1/24

Wine for Classy Ladies

HAPPY NEW YEAR!

I hope 2017 bring a year full of health and happiness.

Hi, sorry I have not posted in a while but like so

many the holidays were crazy busy, plus

then turned up sick afterward.

Still feeling a little bad but wanted to put a w quick post about

the Crafty Awesomeness Challenge to start of the New Year.

This month we will be using KennyK images.

The one I am using is called Happy Hour and I love anything

to do with wine lol.  I did this simple version but

want to do another humorous one a little later in the

month when I am feeling better. 

I just love her classy look.  I colored her using my

Zig Clean Color Markers and moved them around with

a waterbrush.  I cut around the image using a Gina Marie

x-stitched die.  The sentiment is a Sweet Pea Designs

stamp.  I added some Cyrstal Accents to the wine in the glass.

So head on over the Crafting Circle blog and join in

the Crafty Awesomeness Challenge

Challenges entered

Stamp Art Papel - Anything goes ends 1/31

Pretty as a Peacock

Hi, today's card I made using a Unity Stamp from 

the Pretty as a Peacock set.

I stamped the peacock on watercolor paper and then 

colored/painted it using my Zig Clean Color Markers and Distress Inks.

After I colored it I hand cut it out or "fussy" cut it as they say.

I mounted the peacock with foam tape.  The background paper is from a DCWV Mediterranean Cafe stack, then I added strips of lime green cardstock. 

I created this card following the sketch over at the Unity Show & Tell challenge on Facebook. 

Thanks for stopping by, enjoy reading your comments.

Challenges entered:

Unity Show & Tell - sketch ends 10/27

Artistic Inspirations - anything goes ends 11/5

Aurora Wings - anything goes/hand colored ends 11/5

Crafting from the Heart - anything goes ends 10/30

Critters & Creatures - must include a critter/creature ends 10/31

The Outlawz - Greetings animal antics 

Pretty Poppies

Hi, I hope everyone had a fabulous long Labor Day weekend

and hopefully had a little bit of time to craft.

My hand is doing much better after my carpal tunnel surgery

so I was able to get some things done.

So today I have a card to share with you that I hope will brighten

your day.

I stamped these beautiful very large Poppies from  Unity Stamps
by Donna Downey on watercolor paper then heat embossed them using white embossing powder.
Then colored them using Zig Clean Color brush markers.  I love those things!
I masked off the flowers so some looked like they were behind others, but I messed up a bit and should have masked the big one and stamped the one
up in the corner so it would be over the big one, but I guess it came out looking ok anyways peeking out in the back.
These stamps are pretty big the front one measures about 4 inches.  Then
I stamped a border across the middle to set off the sentiment a little.  I saw someone do this (wish I could remember who) and liked the touch it added.
The sentiment is a Rubbernecker stamp.
I wish it would show up in the picture because I covered the poppies with
clear Wink of Stella so they are all sparkly.

Thanks for stopping by, I would love to hear what you think
of my card.

Challenged entered:

Crafty Sentiments - Anything goes ends 9/12

Digi ChoosDay - Anything goes ends 9/20

Lemon Shortbread - Anything goes ends 9/11

Sunny Day Crafting - Anything goes 

Through the Craftroom Door - Anything goes ends 9/12
Work it out Wednesday - what you're working on 9/30

Cooking with Wine................................

....................and drinking it too, of course!

Hi I have a fun card to share with you today.

I am on the design team for the Crafty Awesome Challenge 

at the Crafting Circle.

This month our sponsor is Bloobel stamps.  Lisa is a fabulous artist and draws some of the cutest quirkiest images you will ever see.

So here is my card I created using one of the Bloobel images. 

Isn't she cute in her own way?  The image I used was

One Glass of Wine. 

I colored her using my Zig Clean Color markers, I love using these they

work like watercolors.

I cut her out using a Gina Marie wonky stitch die and inked the edges with Distress Ink.  I added some white polka dots to her dress using a white gel pen.

I cut out the label using a Spellbinder label die and then stamped it with Rubbernecker Stamp.  I love this stamp and it is so me, he he he.  

It must be inherited, both my Mom and I have to have a drink on the counter 

while we are cooking, me wine and Mom has her beer.  So you see I do 

"cook" with wine, although I have to admit mores goes in me than 

goes in the food.  LOL

So there you have it, make sure you head on over and check out

Lisa store, Bloobel Stamps.  And make sure you color up an

image and put it on a project and enter the Crafty Awesomeness Challenge at the Crafting Circle.

Challenges entered:
All Sorts - use at least 2 dies ends 9/3
Artistic Inspirations - Anything goes ends 9/4
Coloring in Scrapland - Anything goes ends 9/3
613 Avenue - Anything goes ends 9/2
Cards Galore - Anything goes ends 9/30
Simon Says Stamp - Work it out ends 9/6
The House that Stamps - Anything goes ends 9/6