Believe!

I received my new Simon Says Stamp word die - Believe - this week and I just love it!

It just so happens that Crazy 4 Challenge has an awesome challenge this week called "Use Your Words". The idea is to make your sentiment the focal point - so I was all in!

I taped off various parts of my white cardstock and sponged some pretty colours to fill half of my card front.  I am not so good at sponging as you can tell - but practice makes perfect!

I die cut the Believe die with black and white polka dot patterned paper and layered the white cardstock on top.  I popped the sentiment up with foam squares.

The rest of the sentiment - you're worth it - is Mama Elephant's Labeled Messages stamped with Versafine Onyx Black - a deep deep black that I love to use!

I added some Your Next Stamp gumdrops - I love the pops of black - just a little bit different!

Hop on over to Crazy 4 Challenges won't you - there is still lots of time!

Mama Elephant overload!

Hey there - I have a couple of Mama Elephant creations that I have put together over the last couple of weeks - I've shown them on Instagram and Facebook but haven't taken the time to post them on the old blogaroo.

Shame. On. Me.

They feature the set Honey Bunny which is just too darn cute!  I used this set for a wedding and birthday - but obviously it is super usable for any kind of card.

This was just a super easy - I began by using patterned paper from Papertrey Ink for my background.  I added a diecut vellum cloud (it was on my desk just waiting for the perfect project!) by running a bead of Tomboy Mono glue across the top of the cloud and attaching it to the patterned paper.

Since vellum is not very forgiving when you use a wet glue - I then ran a piece of washi tape across the very top and added my twine. Way to cover up yay!

I stamped and coloured my two bunny images and die cut them using the matching dies.  I then added the die cut top hat, bow and flowers (a la Laura Bassen! -she's awesome!)

My next card is for my one year old grandson Eddie - he is such a sweetie and I just cannot believe he is ONE year old!! Where does the time go?? - Oh yes, it flies!!

I began with my background - by taping off a section and making a very light watercolour wash with blues and greens.  That cardstock was then die cut using the largest YNS Stitched Rectangle Die.

I stamped, coloured and diecut the cute little Honey Bunny and then placed him in the cardboard box - a great die from Mama Elephant called All Prettied Up!  I popped the whole thing up using foam tape onto the watercolored hills and stamped the sentiment - also from Honey Bunny!

Thanks for popping around today!

Fusion Card Challenge - Sweet Orange Blossoms/Hummingbird

Fusion Card Challenge has a gorgeous photo and/or sketch challenge this week - I am still their guest and haven't been kicked out yet HAH!

Are you thoroughly confused by my title and my creation? Me too.  Although I love little hummingbirds and how they fly around fighting between themselves, darting all over and causing my family and myself to dive for COVER…..I decided to be inspired by the sketch (sort of).

I began by water colouring Clearly Besotted Floral swag from Fairytale Ending and die cutting with the matching dies.

Then, using the gorgeous Neat & Tangled Ornate Frames I stamped and die cut (matching dies) the rectangle frame.  On the inside rectangle I stamped one of the sweet sentiments from Papertrey Ink's Petite Places: Main Street Stamp Set.

I popped up the flowers onto the Ornate Frame and them popped the frame and sentiment panel up onto a piece of Polka Dot vellum.

Using the frame from Mama Elephant's Madison Avenue Framed tags - I die cut a white cardstock frame and inlaid it into the negative frame from a piece of patterned paper - clear as MUD?

I laid those frames on top of the vellum which was layered onto half of piece of Lovely Lady and Soft Stone cardstock.

I finished it off by adding a few enamel dots and iridescent sequins.

Thank you Fusion Card Challenge for having me be your Guest Designer for April - my thinking cap was screwed on tight this month!!

Fusion Card Challenge - April Showers

Happy Thursday and welcome to the Fusion Card Challenge where I am excited to be guesting for the next couple of challenges!

To start off this week, we have a rainbow challenge and/or sketch challenge - you can choose to be inspired by the photo or the sketch or BOTH!

I chose the photo - I mean who can resist a rainbow?

I began by water colouring a bright rainbow wash for my background using my Zig Real Brush Markers and Tim Holtz watercolour paper - and then thoroughly LET IT DRY - yes I yelled, but it is so very important.

After die cutting my rainbow panel with Your Next Stamp Stitched Rectangle Die set, I stamped my Reverse Confetti sentiment from God is Good  with Versafine Onyx Black ink and then adhered it to my white card base.

Then I die cut some clouds using Mama Elephant's Landscape Trio Dies and white cardstock along with polka dot vellum - I love the softness of this!

After adding Gold Star Sequins from Pretty Pink Posh - I decided it was done and to leave it alone.. GAH!!! I am so tempted to over do my creations!

Why don't you head on over to the Fusion Card Challenge and try it out this week - actually it is always a two week challenge - but it sounds better saying it my way hah!

CASology Laugh Much

CASology has a fun word this week - Laugh!

I love it - so I pulled out my new Sophisticated Script alphabet set from Concord & 9th and made my own saying - Laugh Much.

Using Mama Elephant's new release - Carried Away - I made up a little card with those cute little images hanging onto the balloon string for dear life haha!

I stamped the sentiment and then the balloon, and water coloured the balloon.  I water coloured and die cut the little images and adhered them to the balloon string.

I trimmed the edge and popped it up onto a piece of black and white striped patterned paper and then to my Raspberry Fizz card base.

Some twine and sequins finished it off cutely!

Thanks for coming around today - now head out and Laugh!!

Create Together!

I am very pleased to be a guest in a crafty collaboration called Create Together with Marcie Sharp on her blog today. She just happens to be my very talented daughter and has been crafting for many years - I'm so very proud of her crafty accomplishments!!

Marcie sent me this beautiful inspiration photo for us to work with - I absolutely fell in love with it!

I definitely used the colours and glitter to create my card and I pulled out my Vintage Linens Stamp Set by Papertrey Ink (again - I can't get enough of those flowers!)

Embossing the images with white embossing powder is always a great beginning when water colouring.  The watercolours stay where you put them - within reason of course - and the end result is so pretty!

I die cut the images after embossing and watercoloured with my Zig Real Brush Markers. I added some gold glitter in the middle with a gold Wink of Stella pen.

Using Mama Elephant Madison Avenue Frame Tags Creative Cuts (what a long name……) and DCWV Mat Stack glitter brights & neutrals, I die cut a frame from the blue glitter cardstock.  I also die cut the frame using the gorgeous Papertrey Ink Gold Luxe Foil Patterned Paper Collection.  - it is so shiny and…..Gold!!

I inlaid the middle panel of gold stripe into the blue glitter frame and adhered it to my white cardstock card base.

I stamped the sentiment, from Papertrey Ink Choose Joy stamp set onto the die cut tag and popped it up onto the gold striped cardstock.  I popped up the flowers and added ribbon and some pretty gold glitter baubles to finish my creation.

Thank you for visiting today - and get out those water-colours and play!!

Friend

Good rainy morning! Another rainy one here in Southwestern Florida - blech…but it gives me a chance to create which is a big YAY!

The Challenge has a masculine theme inspiration photo this week - NOT my favourite definitely lol, but I perservered and came up with a colourful Friend card - because having a male friend is absolutely do-able!

I used the oranges and blue as my inspiration and came up with a Friend creation that could be sent to a male friend.  Using Mama Elephant's Friend Indeed and some colourful papers - one with bit of glitter because I don't care WHO you are - you are getting a glittery card from me!

I added the matching die cut "friend" along with some twine - because I'm pretty sure that guys like twine - yes they do.

Thanks for coming out and hope you get on with The Challenge this week!

Loves mew!

I'm starting my Valentine's cards and this one is for my one and only granddaughter!  I need to pop it in the mail so that it reaches Canada before that special day - the postal service in Florida is 'delicate' to say the least.

This week's Curtain Call Inspiration Challenge has a "Girly" board this week - perfect for a Valentine's theme!

This is the theme board

I was inspired by the kitty, the polka dots and the pink shades - as you can see, so I watercolored the cute little Newton kitty from Newton's Nook stamp set Newton's Antics.  I won a gift certificate in the Coffee Lovers Holiday Blog Hop and I was able to choose a few sweet stamp sets from Newton's Nook- yay!

The scalloped frame -cardstock and Swiss Dot vellum - was diecut using Mama Elephant's Creative Cuts - All Prettied Up!  I adhered "Newton" to a circle die and added him right in the middle of that pretty scalloped circle.

I coloured and die cut the sweet little ball of yarn and popped it up onto the kitty.  The bow is also one of the dies from All Prettied Up - a little added specialty to make my creation all girly!!

Thanks for coming around - and check out this "Pretty" inspiration board at Curtain Call!

Photo Bomb Love

I absolutely am in love with this Fusion Challenge - just look at these gorgeous colours!!

This challenge is always fun because you can choose either be inspired by the photo - or - use the sketch provided - a choice is always a good thing.

I chose to be inspired by the brilliant colours - I love it - so summer-y YES!!

….and isn't that the cutest photo bomb ever?!!  Mama Elephant hit the nail on the head with this one…..I am always a bit late on the bandwagon with new releases….it just takes me awhile to really figure out the way that I would want to use it….crazy I know!!

The balloon paper is from Papertrey Ink's Black and White All Over - the balloons are part of the pattern - I watercoloured them with my Zig Real Brush Markers.

The image was stamped onto Tim Holtz water-colour paper and coloured with my Ziggy's and water…..certainly a different look than copic markers (my spell check just corrected copic to "colic" hah!)

The sentiment is a new one from Simon Says Stamp - and I simply love it….what can I say?

Peace out.