2 cards today

I had a good card day today and yesterday. I got the Alexa stamp set from Missy B designs and just had to make a card with it cause it is so cute. I decided to try the sketch challenge by Heartfelt Greetings again, but I changed it up a little. This little girl is paper pieced using some CM DP that I had laying around. I even paper pieced her hair. Then I added some stickles but got my finger in it as usual. Then some white gel doodles and ribbon from Jody. I used the CM cutting system to cut the oval and the ticket corner punch. I love this card. It makes me happy to look at it.

I admired a card made by Colleen Schaan in a post she made for Craft Critique and she was so kind as to email me back telling me it was a Hampton Arts Friends set from HL. So today I searched it out and came home and made this card. I am a frugal person (you wouldn't know it if you looked at my studio) and found this card base that I had stamped with Seeing Spots and I had some of this SU DP left from a project, so thought how can I use this with scraps. So, this is what I came up with. The flower is one I had made quite awhile ago by clear embossing one of the flowers from Delight in Life and adding some dazzling diamonds in the center. It matched the scrap I used to mount the saying on. I used the sepia versafine ink for the first time too and I loved the way it stamped. I am very pleased with this card. Thank you Colleen. Hope it meets with your approval.

I am so much enjoying these cards that I make and your comments mean the world to me. Thank you so much.

Thanks for checking in today.

Cheryl out!!!

Play day!!!

Kathy came over to my house today while Jerry was at the race track at a meeting and we played with our stamps. We decided to do the Sunday challenge card from Heartfelt Greetings blog, so we worked on that. Here is my creation. I used the Roses in Winter stamp set that is soon to be retired. I will continue to use this one as I am not a demo and I can!!! I also used the words from Papertrey stamps Paper Tray for the ovals that I punched with the large and small oval punch. I used DP from SU called Oxford. I love the SU designer papers. The ink I used was from the versamagic ink share from Doodlidoo and I love it. I made quite a mess with it tho and had to keep washing my hands so I wouldn't cover the paper and me with it.We even played with shrink plastic today and that stuff is amazing. I will have to figure out how to put a piece of it on a card. I am so impressed. Kathy liked it too and will be buying some shrink plastic soon. So, it was a good crafting day today. I even made Luke the cutest little lady bug can for his birthday money. I used the Little Lady stamp set from Papertrey that I just got. I will post a photo of it too. Be right back.

Ok, here is the little can. Isn't this better than putting money in a card?

Time to go think up something for dinner as Jerry just called and is on his way home from the racetrack. Better go.

Thanks for checking in with me today. Cheryl out!!!

Zen Illuminated Card

I signed up for Erika Martin's tutorial program and this is the card I made with the first tutorial for the Zen Illuminated Background technique. I used her colors but didn't use her stamp set as I didn't have it so used the Delight In Life set. The word sweet is one of Gina K's stamps. I used Glossy White, Elegant Eggplant, Perfect Plum, and Orchid Opulence cardstock. I also used the perfect plum watercolor crayon and rubbing alcohol. It was a most interesting technique and I will try it again now that I know what I am doing. I must say that I really enjoy tutorials and Erika writes the best (along with my gal Dawn Griffith).

I got my shipment of the Versamagic Dew Drops. I love the way they work with the clear stamps but what a mess I make. I had ink all over me and the cardstock. How do you all stay clean? Any suggestions will be taken seriously.

I also got my Missy B stamps and some of the mounting foam for them and they work great. Now my scissors are all sticky. How do I remove that stickiness from them?

Guess that is all for now. Maybe Kathy and I will stamp this weekend. Thanks for looking in!!

Cheryl out!!

Father's Day card

I am really enjoying the sketch challenges on Splitcoast. I think if I keep doing them that I will become a better stamper. This one was fun to do and I think it will be an acceptable Father's Day card to send. I had thought that the green I used was handsome hunter, so the ink I used on the weathered backgrounder was handsome hunter and also the colors that I got from the color coach was for handsome hunter, but the color I used was glorious green. It was too late when I discovered that. I did the stamp (from Lovely as a Tree) with the thumping technique with markers that I read about on a blog. I also did some sponging and am thinking about putting some stickles on the tree, but maybe not. This is also the first time I used the Karen Foster snap stamps and I love them. Too bad she is going to d/c them.
We are going to a friends house for dinner tonite. The wind is blowing very hard here and we have smoke in the air from the fires burning in GA and FL. Let's pray for these people in this area.
Thanks for looking in today. Cheryl out!!!

A Karen Lockhart orginal!!!

Look what I won from Ellen Hutson!!! It is a Karen Lockhart original that she has signed. Wow, I love it and it is in a place of honor on my tv credenza. It is done with the "flowers in chintz" stamp and it is lovelier than the photo shows. I feel like a very, very lucky person and I want to thank Ellen so much for offering this and for sending it out to me so that I received it so quickly.

And I read on Ellen's blog that the Karen Foster snap stamps are going to be no more. That is so sad as they are such cute stamps and easy to use. Let's all write and tell her to not d/c them, ok?

I haven't been posting as we were away to Myrtle Beach for Mother's Day weekend and our son came down from PA to be with us. He brought his lady friend who we adore. We had a terrific time and now it is back to reality again. We camped at this neat campground called Willowtree Resort. It was the cleanest and most pleasant campground we have ever been in. The only drawback of it was that it was so far from the beach. They did have a beautiful lake that our camper was backed up to. There was a mile walking trail around the lake so every morning, Jerry, the dogs and I took a hike around the lake.

Thanks for checking in today and I will stamp something this week--promise. I look forward to the sketch challenges on Splitcoast on Wed.

Cheryl

This is an experiment. I got my soft photo light box just now and took another photo of this card. I wonder which photo is best. Let me know if you think this one is or the other one is, OK? I had trouble figuring out how to put it together. I think it is right now. I got this on ebay for about $25.
Cheryl

Another sketch challenge card from Splitcoast

I bought one of the glue pads at a stamp show I went to several weeks ago and also splurged on several colors of the ultra fine glitter. The sketch challenge today made me want to do something with this stuff as I was watching Martha Stewart on the Today show today and she used her glue and glitter and it looked so pretty. So I started playing with it and this card is what I came up with. Now if someone could tell me what to do to keep the glitter from coming off. I even tried hairspray over it. I still have a long way to go to but I am having fun on the journey. I used the cuttlebug heart embossing folder on the real red base as I thought it needed something. Then I used the glitter on the doodle that set and cut into squares with my Creative Memories square punch. I stuck it all down with my ATG 714 gun (which I love but get some glue hanger oners!!!) Then I stamped the delight in life with versafine ink (which I love) and added the bow from Jodys ribbon share. I am sure this could use something else, but I just don't know what. I will continue to try to create and share with you.

Thanks for checking in today.

Card for a friend

I finally got around to stamping something today. I did not case this from anyone and it is so hard for me to do my own thing. Sometimes I wonder if it is worth it. It takes me forever to figure out what to do and then it just doesn't look good. Must be nice to be talented like all these stampers' blogs that I read. I think I like caseing better. This card was made with some of this and some of that. The only thing entirely the same company is the papertrey stamp set, Green Thumb. I love this set but do find that the SU ink doesn't work as well as I want it to on these stamps. I have some ink ordered and maybe that will help. I used some Basil green cardstock for the base, the mat piece was a piece of DCWV's glitter stack. Then I used a piece of purple CM paper and a scrap of white that had already had some cut out of it. I used the CM cutting system and scissor cut the saying. The ink was SU--don't remember which colors. I tried so many. The bow kinda gets lost on there, but I tied it like a blog said to (can't remember whose blog-sorry) tie it around your finger in a knot and then slip off and cut the bow. It does make the cutest bow. This gets lost on the busyness of the cardstock. Anyhow, I am sending this to my best friend who had to go to PA to stay with her daughter who is on bedrest until she has her baby at the end of the month. I sure do miss her.

Hope I can get a better feel for my stamping. Maybe that is why a sketch challenge is so good. I just can't get the feel to make my cards pretty.

Thanks for looking in and if you have any advice for me, please let me know as I would appreciate anything.

Cheryl

Really out on a limb today

I have really gone out on a limb today trying new things. This time I tried the mulberry batik challenge on Splitcoast, but since I didn't have any mulberry paper, I used a coffee filter. The technique was not very hard and I may try it again now that I see how it works. My problem was how to use the paper when I finished it. I stamped the doodle this flower on the filter and then clear embossed it and then did all the water stuff to it with some of the bold bright colors. Then I ironed it and tore it and then I had the problems. I found some old cardstock and used that and stamped the little flower on the base with versamark. Then I did the flower from doodle that in pixie pink and sponged with brilliant blue, punched with the oval punch and mounted on blue oval to match the base. Now that I look at it, it looks like an O!!! It still didn't look complete so I had to add a blue ribbon bow on the top. Not sure that helps, but oh well, it is done. I also stamped the word smile at the bottom just because.
Thanks for checking it out. Maybe someday I will improve.
Cheryl

Mothers Day Card

I did it!!! I was determined to make the faux ribbon for the Splitcoast Sketch challenge 122 this week. It took some work but I did it. When I went to pull the tape off the card, the tore off some of the layer of gold shimmer cardstock. I used some painters blue tape, but next time I use it, I will remove some of the stickiness of it. I used the Roses In Winter set as I love this set. I made this card for Mother's Day for my mom and found a poem online that I copied off on velum to put inside. I need to practice more with this faux ribbon set as I can see some wonderful possibilities with it. This was definitely out of my comfort zone today, but I did it. I do think my stamping is improving. Do you all have any suggestions for what I could put at the bottom right of the card? It needs something and I tried a prima but don't have the right color. Thanks for any suggestions you have for me.
What are you making your mom's for mothers day? I am thinking of enclosing one of my paperclip bookmarks for her--wish I had done a roses one.
Thanks for checking in today.
Cheryl