Sweet Dreams

Today’s card is an entry for the House Mouse & Friends Monday challenge #95, and can also be entered at the Spotted Canary.

The main image is a House Mouse stamp called Sweet Dreams. I stamped it on glossy paper with Memento Tuxedo Black ink, then colored with an Alcohol Ink Fillable Pen, filled with Blending Solution, and dried Alcohol Inks. After coloring, it was cut and embossed with a Nestie Curved Rectangle die, then I ran some Alcohol Ink around the embossed edge. The image was then layered onto a piece of purple cardstock embossed with the SU embossing folder Petals-A-Plenty, then layered onto a piece of yellow, with a dark purple card base. I attached three purple self stick gems instead of a sentiment.

Thanks for looking and please feel free to leave comments, I enjoy reading them.

Happy Stamping!
judy

Buggin’ Butterfly

This is a card I did on March 31, for the Spotted Canary Spring Challenge over at SCS. I didn’t post it that day, as I was running out of time for the challenge.  It took me over an hour to make this card, and the worst part is the butterfly was already done. Making cards is so time consuming.

I thought I would make one last ditch effort for the Spotted Canary Spring Challenge. I used a butterfly previously done with my own version of the Faux Cloisonné Technique. I stamped on a magazine page with Versamark, but used black ep in place of gold. Instead of cutting the dp (from a DCWV Spring Stack) with the Nesties Labels 8, I cut the bright pink to make a frame, and placed it over top of the dp. A MS butterfly punch was used to punch the little butterflies around the frame from a piece of the scrap dp. The sentiment is from a CDS set called Bugs and Kisses, it was stamped with onyx black Versafine. The base card is a bright yellow.
 
Thanks for looking and any comments.

Memory Thinking

This is my second card today I wanted to at least get one more entry for a couple of the challenges that are ending today; the Spotted Canary Spring Challenge at SCS, and the Green Challenge at Spotted Canary. I used the sketch from CPS #211 if it is still running I will enter it there. It may be like the one I did this morning for Stamping 411, when I went to post it, the challenge was closed. I’ll get back into the swing of things sooner or later……as soon as I do, I’ll have to go back to my non-stamping land, then start all over again.

For this card, I wanted to try something different, so I went to the technique page at SCS and jotted down a couple different ones by just randomly selecting them. One of the selections was Joseph’s coat…..I went upstairs to my craft room, got everything together to do this technique earlier this morning, brayered the colors onto the paper, and I’m still waiting for the ink to dry, I have made two cards since putting the ink to paper. My second selection and the technique for this card was Pastel Embossing. I had never done this before and it was really easy. I’ve had the blender pens a while now and never bothered to use them. I chose the SU set Close as a Memory for the main image. I’m still in a Use It Tuesday mode using stamps I’ve never used before. You need a solid image stamp, and that is the first one I ran across, and I had never used it before. I needed a dark color cardstock, and since I was making spring cards I went with a dark purple. I stamped the image with Versamark, sprinkled detail white ep, and embossed the image with my heat gun. Then I pulled out my SU chalk set and a blender pen and proceeded to color the white ep. I gave the yellow flowers a two-tone look by adding some red chalk around the edges. After coloring you are supposed to spray a Matte finish clear sealer on it to keep the chalk in place……I didn’t feel like going from upstairs all the way to the basement to see if I had any, so I spritzed hairspray on it. I then decided on what Nesties I wanted to use, the ovals won out, so it was cut and embossed with a Nestie oval, I ran a white gel pen around the inside of the die before removing……no more Soufflé’ pens for this after yesterdays mess that you can read about in my Mice Birthday post. I had to pick out some dp, so I went with a piece from a DCWV Flower Shower Spring stack, the yellow flowers are similar to stamped flowers. Then I decided to use green cardstock for the layers, the scalloped oval and the layer behind the dp. The base card is the same dark purple that the image is stamped on. The sketch is actually not this detailed, I just got went with the flow. A ticket punch was used on the dp corners, a corner rounder punch on the green layer behind the dp. I thought the MS flower border punch would look good, was trying to decide on what color to punch, when a light bulb lit up in my pea brain…….punch white, color with chalk & blender pen to match image. That same light bulb lit up again when it came to the sentiment, since I was working with a small space I again chose the SU set Teeny Tiny Wishes, I really wanted to stamp on the green, but I don’t like that paper…love the color though…..I guess you would say the paper is textured and I don’t find stamping results too good, mainly I use that paper for layering, so I went with purple, stamped the  sentiment with Versamark, embossed with detail white, colored it with the chalk and blender pen. I have started using some glue to put the cards together, since money is really tight and my ATG tape is getting low. I hate gluing the layers, it takes forever to dry, and usually looks like it would fall apart if touched, even though I stack heavy stuff on top of the card when gluing. My brilliant idea today after getting the card all together and wanting to add some bling and half pearls, but the glue wasn’t drying fast enough, was to heat up an iron, I knew it would melt the embossing if I held it on too long, I had a piece of scrap paper on the front and back was running the iron on the back, which may have worked, but nooooo I had to turn the card over and iron the front. Somebody should have been standing over me saying Don’t try this at home!! I ironed the embossing from the main image and the sentiment onto my scrap piece of paper and had to redo both purple pieces. Luckily the stupid glue wasn’t even dry and I was able to remove the main image. I redid both purple pieces, I just added the sentiment over top the old one. Then continued on my merry way to add the red flower centers (MFT adornments), the green half pearls on the corners and one lighter half pearl on the sentiment (Basic Grey).
 
Thanks for stopping by, I’d love to hear your comments.

Neighborhood Shower

Here is my second card for the day. My mojo is returning, at least I think so, I just don’t sit there staring dumbly at the desk thinking what do I do, what do I do?. (I repeat it just in case my conscious can’t here me.) This time I went with an all new sketch website to me Stamping 411 sketch #196, I’ve never participated here before, and the sketch lit up a light bulb in my pea brain, so I had a beginning. As a matter of fact I can also enter it in the Spotted Canary Spring challenge at SCS and the Green challenge at Spotted Canary.

When I saw the sketch, I thought of using some of my stamping wheels for the image. My box of wheels is on the very top shelf in my stamping room, and I have sort of hurt myself, I don’t know how, unless it was lifting something way to heavy and twisted something, but my left leg where it joins at the hip is making it hard for me to walk, especially if I sit for very long, and the wheels being on the top shelf meant I had to climb my little three step, ladder. Since I am home alone, I didn’t think this was a very brilliant idea, so I looked in a box of stuff I had stamped and colored before, but never used, and low and behold there was a stamped and colored image from the SU Neighborhood jumbo wheel. I would have climbed up there on a six foot ladder, but didn’t feel like carrying one up two sets of stairs. I had a hard enough time putting a sock & shoe on that left foot this morning. It has probably taken me twice as long to make the two cards today, because I get up every so often and walk around, or rather limp around. Enough about that.
As I stated earlier the main image was stamped from a SU Neighborhood jumbo wheel, since it was done a while ago, I don’t know what ink I used, but if I were to guess, it would be jet black Stazon. It was colored with prismacolored pencils, and I went over it with goo gone today, just to try and blend it some more. I went over the windows with a Versamark pen and embossed with detail clear ep, for a window glass look. The image was cut to size and layered onto a green that matched the grass. I considered using the MS grass border punch, but the grass looked like it needed to be mowed, it was way too high. I started looking through my dp for some paper with sky and clouds, instead I found clouds and rain in a DCWV Spring Stack, it worked for me. I would have preferred a more bluish tint, but I can’t have everything…….from the looks of this sky the people in the houses better get to safety a tornado may be coming. Since the dp had gray for the outlines, I used a gray layer behind it, three gray brads and a silver wired ribbon. The bow was made on a bow easy. I know my mojo is returning, because the ideas were popping….clear ep on the windows, white liquid applique for the clouds, and stardust stickles on the raindrops. For the sentiment I used the SU set Teeny Tiny Wishes, for your shower just seemed like it belonged there. I used a Marvy Uchida punch, quotation cloud balloon, and cut off the pointy part so it would look more like a cloud, stamped the sentiment in onyx black versafine, sponged the edges with dove gray Stazon and popped it with foam dots.

Thanks for stopping by and I’d love to hear your comments.

Mice Birthday

I’m back!! I’ve been here at my stamping land since Sunday, but today is the first chance I have had to play. I think I’ve lost my mojo, so I figured I’d start with an easy sketch to help get it back. My help was supplied by sketch #211 from CPS and I also had in mind the green challenge at Spotted Canary.

Since I won a challenge over at Use It Tuesday, I am supposed to be creating a card for a future challenge, but that doesn’t seem to be happening yet. If only I didn’t have to go to my non-stamping land, I could probably roll off one after another, but the lapse in time since I left has really done me in.
At least I started this card off right for a Use It Tuesday challenge, using a stamp I have never used before and image from a SU set called Say Something Mice. It was stamped with onyx black versafine on white cardstock, colored with prismacolored pencils & goo gone and  SU markers. I touched up the eye with a black glaze pen, after the candle and balloon was colored, I hit them with a versamark pen, dusted detail clear ep and embossed. The candle flame has yellow stickles added to it. The image was then cut out and embossed with Nesties Labels One. Now I can tell you what not to do…..I like to run an ink pen around the inside of the die before removing it, this time I decided to get a little fancy and used a green Souffle’ Pen, the ink in these pens comes out a little thick, therefore it smears real easyhence the green balloons on the two corners, they are covering up the worst spots. Needless to say I won’t be using Souffle’ pens for this anymore. I found the balloons in my stash and don’t remember where I got them, they are not brads more like buttons without the shanks or any holes to sew them on.  The main image is layered over what I would normally call a piece of lace, but since I just bought this I can tell you it is called Flexi lace hem tape, and it comes in all sorts of colors. I do not sew as you can probably tell from the sewing on the card…….I can’t even sew a straight line with the sewing machine, and I was trying so hard to keep it lined up with that foot thingy. Anyways the main image is separated from the yellow layer by the hem tape, the yellow layer had the same green Souffle’ pen run around the die and it also smeared in places. The next layer is a green dp from a DCWV Flower Shower Matstack, sewn onto another layer of the same yellow. The base card is green.

Thanks for stopping by and I’d love to hear your comments.

Mouse Blossoms

Today’s card fits the House Mouse & Friends Monday Challenge #91, the Spotted Canary Green Challenge and the Spotted Canary Spring Challenge at SCS.

I rushed making this card, which you can probably tell. I didn’t use any sketches just threw it together, and it is lacking something. We were away all day visiting my DH’s Aunt, about a four hour drive one way, and got back late this evening. I wanted to make one more card, as tomorrow I will be going back to my other house L. I think I have been at this house since January, where all my toys are J. I was staying here, feeding wood into our outdoor furnace, that is all the heat we have at this house and having a good time playing with my toys, but it is time to go back, I need to pack more of my junk up so I can move here permanently.

The image is a House Mouse stamp called Spring Blossoms, stamped with jet black Stazon on white cardstock, colored with prismacolored pencils & goo gone. For the eyes a black glaze pen and a white gel pen were used, then the image was cut out and placed on a green circle, cut and embossed with a nestie circle die. I stamped the top half of the image again, colored the center mouse head, cut out and popped up on foam dots. Holes were pierced around the outside edge of the circle. The circle was then placed on a piece of dp from a DCWV Flower Shower Spring mat stack, the corners punched with a ticket corner punch, then layered on purple, with a green brad placed in each corner, the base card is the same green as the circle. I did not add a sentiment, but as I sit here and think about it, that may be a good thing, I can add one later to fit the occasion, instead of it being just a birthday card, I can change it to whatever.

Thanks for stopping by, and I’d love to hear your comments.

Bird Watching

For today’s card I used this week's sketch challenge #209 at CPS to create a card, that can also be entered in the House Mouse & Friends Monday Challenge #91, the Spotted Canary Spring Challenge over at SCS and the green challenge at Spotted Canary.

I chose a House Mouse Image called Bird Watching for this card. The image was stamped on white cardstock with jet black Stazon, colored with prismacolored pencils & goo gone, then cut out. The mouse and flower was placed on a yellowish orange oval cut out and embossed with an oval Nestie, before removing the die, I ran a white gel pen around the inside of it, then a layer of green cut out with a scalloped oval nestie. For the next layer I chose a MS border punch and punched the white flower strip, then attached it to a strip of the yellowish orange. The dp is from a DCWV Flower Shower Spring mat stack layered onto a piece of white cardstock with top and bottom punched with another MS border punch. I also punched two strips of green with the same punch and offset it a little. The base card is the same yellowish orange. In the picture the yellowish orange looks more yellow than orange, but the paper matches the flowers in the dp. The hummingbird is popped on foam dots, and after the card was put together I added yellow stickles to the flower in the image.

Thanks for stopping by, and I’d love to hear your comments.

Nice Rain

Today’s card is for the sketch challenge over at CPS, and since April showers bring May flowers, I’ll submit this one to the Spotted Canary Spring Challenge over at SCS.

For this card I chose a retired SU set And Everything Nice, just because I ran across the dp with the umbrellas & rain. I thought it would be fun to paper piece this image. The image was stamped three times with Versamark and embossed with detail black ep. Once on the red checked dp, once on yellow, and once on white. First I had everything matching in red checked, but that was too much, so I changed her to a yellow raincoat, boots and hat, almost felt like I was playing with paper dolls. The umbrella was left in red checked dp because it matched the red checked umbrellas in the background dp. The red checked dp is from the DCWV Flower Shower Spring Stack Mat Stack. Stormy Sky distress ink was stippled around the image, SU markers used to color parts of the hat, umbrella handle, pockets, buttons, duck bill, ducks feet and soles of the boots. A prismacolored pencil was used to fill in the water puddle, afterwards colored the rain drops and puddle with a clear glitter gel pen. The image was then cut out and embossed with a Nesties Label Two die, but I decided to trim off the embossed part, as the next size die would have covered up too much of the background dp. The yellow layer behind the image was cut with the same size die as the image. Next I added a yellow ribbon over a strip of the red checked dp, which is sewn onto the background dp. I keep trying with the sewing machine, some day I won’t have this ongoing battle with it, to keep the darn thing threaded. Right in the middle of sewing the thread breaks, or the needle comes unthreaded before I even get started, and I don't think I could sew a straight line if I tried.. I used black thread and straight stitches to add the red checked dp. The background dp is from the DCWV Flower Shower Spring Stack, and even though I just about covered them up with stitching, the four red checked umbrellas still show. First I did a straight stitch across top and bottom of the background dp to the red layer behind it, then I added a zig zag stitch  on the edges, the base card is yellow.

Unless I get a card done tomorrow, it may be the last one I can work on for a while. We had company this weekend, which was great, but took me away from my toys. I’m hoping to get some work done outside tomorrow, Tuesday we will be heading out for a visit with my DH’s aunt it’s like a three hour drive one way, and Wednesday we will be heading back to the other house. L

Thanks for stopping by, I’d love to hear your comments.

Enjoy Teddy

For today’s card I used this week’s sketch from Use It Tuesday, made it with a lot of green for the Spotted Canary green challenge, and made it springy for the Spotted Canary Spring Challenge at SCS.

The main images are from a SU set called Favorite Teddy. The teddy was stamped on a piece of dp from a DCWV Nana’s Nursery Baby Boy Stack, with jet black stazon, the center of the two paws colored with a SU marker, the eyes colored with a black glaze pen and dotted with a white gel pen, then it was cut out, and two green mini brads added at the joints. The wagon was stamped on green paper with Versamark, embossed with detail black ep, the tires colored with a SU marker, cut out and silver mini brads added to the center of the wheels. The cake was stamped on white with jet black Stazon, colored with  gel pens, and cut out. The silk flowers are held together with green flower brads on a piece of green cut out with a Cuttlebug slider die, which has the ribbon run through it. I cheated on the sketch, there is no bow, and there is no layering for the main image. The plaid dp is from my scrap pile, layered onto green, the top and bottom was punched with EK Success border punches, the candles were colored with glaze pens. The background dp is from a DCWV Spring Stack, layered onto green, with a white base card. For the sentiment instead of stamping, I used the enjoy brad from my stash, I left it blue for some contrast. The balloon brads were pink, they were stamped with Versamark and embossed with green tinsel ep. I tied some black thread to the balloons and ran the thread to the wagon handle.  

It didn’t do me a lot of good to jot down my ideas the other day, I have lost the paper, but I did remember about stamping the teddy on dp.

Thanks for stopping by, and I’d love to hear your comments.