Tag You're It - A Beary Adventure

Are you playing at Tag You're It Challenge?  I just want to remind you that you still have time to play along!  It's a two week challenge and we're at the half way point!

Check out the inspiration tag from Kim Heggins of Cupcakes Cards and Kim!  Isn't this super sweet?  I love the little bear holding the fish, the blue distress background, card stock grass and stamped tree landscape!  Even the pretty ribbon treatment is perfect.... the bit of blue matches the fish perfectly! 

Tags are a great way to dress up even the simplest gifts.  Maybe you know someone going on a camping trip?  Wouldn't this be sweet on a bag of treats for the car.. maybe some granola?  Ooooh.. or how about some home made chocolate chip cookies?  Ok.. getting hungry now! LOL!   

You get the picture!  What a great way to say you care! 

Here's my take on Kim's tag!  I created a distress ink background.  For the sunshine I used a circle die cut to make a stencil, and then later I used the circle die cut as a mask when I inked up the sky.

The tag and scallop border dies are from Pretty Pink Posh.  I love using the little flower sequins as accents on landscapes.

Isn't this what every bear would wish for?  I don't think my husband would mind either! LOL!

Now it's your turn!  Head on over to the Tag You're It Challenge blog and link up your design!   We'd love to see what you make!

Supplies
Stamps | Stampin Up! Bear Hugs 
Dies | Pretty Pink Posh Stitched Duo 3, Scallop Borders  | Poppystamps Puffy Cloud Border | Stampin Up! Bear Hugs
Sequins | Pretty Pink Posh Summer Flowers 
Twine | Stampin Up! 

TYIC#50 Watercolor Floral

HI and thanks for stopping by!  I hope you like tags!  A new challenge begins today at Tag You're It!  Check out the inspiration from design team member Kelly Szafron this week!     I think she took me out of my comfort zone a little bit with this one.  I didn't focus on the subject matter (the strawberry) so much as the technique she used to create this lovely tag.

I stamped a floral image and embossed it on watercolor paper.  Next I water colored the image to get the same look as Kelly!  I used my Zig Clean Color Brushes and a water pen to spread the color around.  (I got mine at Pretty Pink Posh)

This took me more than a few tries before I was happy with the result.  Sometimes I get a little carried away.  I went mad spraying and spritzing as a finishing touch, and it just kept coming back looking like it got dropped in a puddle.  So no splotches for this little gal!  :) 

I kept lots of elements the same as Kelly's tag - the double tag, circular bitty tag for a sentiment, and a few additions of my own.. some sequins and a bow.  Seems like forever since I've tied a bow.. am I turning CAS? 

The Zig Cean Color brushes gave me more control in the tight areas of this stamped images.  I think this would have been nearly impossible for me with just a brush and pan colors. 

I got lucky with the sentiments in this stamp set from Stampin' Up!  They had  one small enough to fit on this bitty tag! 

Ok one more photo! 

Now it's your turn ! I sure hope you'll join us at Tag You're It!  Step out of your comfort zone and see what you can create with this fun technique!

Stamps | Stampin' Up! I Like You
Die | Pretty Pink Posh Stitched Banner Duo 2 | Spellbinder Charmed I'm Sure
Twinery Pink Sorbet Twine
Hole Punch We R Memory Keepers 
Ribbon May Arts 5/8" Fuschia Mesh
Pattern Paper | Doodlebug Sweet Things 6"

TYIC#46 Gone Fishin

We're at the half way point of the latest challenge at Tag You're It! I hope you join us soon because time is running out! Check out this cute inspiration tag from Susan Wuthrich. That little gnome is adorable but if you look a little closer you'll see a textured stencil background that makes this an even bigger stand out!

So how did I turn this cute little gnome into a fuzzy bear?  Well .. I thought I'd spin it in a completely new direction.  I still have a cute little character, he's holding an offering, my sentiment is stamped on a shape and I still have a raised stencil background!  Ahhh.... ok right? LOL!

I'm not much of a camper, but being married to a Scoutmaster and having an Eagle in the house I've made LOTS and LOTS of camping related things.  I couldn't resist this cute bear!  I knew he was mine the minute I locked eyes on him.

I created the stencil background with the Gentle Wave Collage die from Poppystamps.  It's a background / reverse die.  So all I had to do was punch out the pieces, lay it over some card stock and spread on the light molding paste.  To get it blue I added a few drops of distress ink and mixed it up before the spreading. I wanted it to look like water so before it was set I covered it with some chunky glitter.

I didn't have a tag this shape - I just trimmed it to size to hold the bear and dog eared the corners.

I was thinking of my husband when I chose the sentiment from the set.  This would be his perfect day... a lake full of fish!

 I colored the fish with Copic Markers - Why they are Rainbow Trout of course!  LOL!  Some colorful Twinery twine in Maraschino to hold them up.  The red and white reminds me of bobbers.

Now I'm hoping you will play too - maybe you will spin it in a whole different direction?   Need a little inspiration?  Hop on over to the Tag You're It Challenge Blog and see what the rest of the team made!  

Supplies:
Stamps | Stampin' Up! Bear Hugs
Dies | Poppystamps Gentle Wave Collage, Stitched Landscapes | Stampin' Up Bear Hugs
Twinery Marachino Twine
Twisted Burlap | May Arts  
Martha Stewart Coarse Gliter

Happy Easter to Ewe!

A bit hello and Happy Easter to you! The first day of Spring was yesterday! Aren't you excited to start enjoying some warmer weather? The birds are singing in the mornings again and I'm seeing some green popping up in the flower bed! Have you started making your Easter cards yet? I couldn't resist this cute little lamb stamp! I know if it's got me smiling that it just has to be contagious and make you smile too!

I love mixing things up and using non traditional colors on projects. I can't tell you how close this little lamb was to being aqua blue. I took a vote here at home and the pink won out.

I started with a base of pretty pattern paper in Spring colors! I love lots of layers and I like to add lots of embellishments.

I wanted to add lots of drama to my focal point - the little lamb. To make it stand out more I made some big loops from Midnight Blue Twinery Twine and adhered them to my card base.

I knew I would be topping this with the colored stamped image so I didn't have to worry about the glue showing. Ranger Multi Medium Matt Adhesive keeps everything stuck in place.

I chose Midnight Blue Twinery Twine to add contrast to the colors on my project and make it stand out more. I adhered the stamped image with adhesive foam dots over the twine so just the loopy edges peek out. Twine is a great accent to add to just about any project. It lays nice and flat so it doesn't add much bulk when your mailing projects. It also adds a pop of color and texture to your layout!
The Twinery offers a great selection of twine in a color to match all your projects - and your choice of original striped or solid. I tend to gravitate to the striped - it always makes me happy. I love how it contrasts with all the dots on my design - the dots on the lamb, as well as the dots in the background paper.

Wishing you and yours a wonderful Easter!

Finished Size 4.25 x 5.5"
Supplies:
Twinery Midnight Blue Twine
Paper | Basic Grey Fresh Cut 12"
Stamp | Stampin' Up!
Dies | Pretty Pink Posh Stitched Border Stitched Banner Duo | Cheery Lynn French Pastry | Paper Smooches Flag Tags
Pin | Tim Holtz - Wood Sequins | Cloud 9 | Gem | Wood Button

Fusion - Peacock Dynasty

Aren't you glad Fusion Card Challenge is back from summer break?  I always love playing along with the challenge.  It's a great kick start for inspiration because you can use the inspiration photo or sketch to work with.  If you're feeling clever you can FUSE them both together!     I couldn't pull off the sketch this week so I went with the beautiful peacock inspiration.   I purchased this stamp from Stampin' Up!  a while back and never got around to playing with it - so I was delighted to see the photo this time!   I'm also linking this up to Darnell's NBUS challenge (Never Before Used Stuff or Schtuff as she says!)  You need to stop by there if you're not playing and see all the great sponsors she has for this event! 

I colored this one up with Copic Marker and added a double cut "Joy" die.   I wanted to pick up a little more of that hot pink on the flowers and a little gold never hurt LOL!  The stitched border die is from Pretty Pink Posh.

 This is a two week challenge so I hope you find a little time to play! 

 

Supplies Used:  Finished Size 4.25 x 5.5"
Stamp:  Stampin Up!
Joy Die:  Serendipity Stamps
Border Die:  Pretty PInk Posh
Pattern Paper Pebbles "Cottage Living" 
Sequins Pretty Pink Posh
Ink:  Memento / Copic

Fusion - Purple Flowers

Ohhh there is bee in my bonnet today!  Been going crazy looking at my photos on blogger.  Wondering why why why do they look so horrible?  I spend so much time photoshopping to get the whites white, and the colors just right only to find out that Google has just added a nifty little feature called "Auto Enhance" .  Did you know about this?  Well if you're a little late on the memo like me, all you need to do is go into Google Plus.  Click on home in the upper left corner.  A drop down menu will come up.  Next click on Settings  and check the box for Auto Enhance "off" if that's your preference.   Now the proof is in the pudding.  Have to wait and see how the pics look when they post - see if the contrast is turned way up like on the last ones.   So frustrating!!! 

Ok .. vented... deep breath...   A new challenge starts today at Fusion Card Challenge!  This one is right up my alley!    Look at the pretty purple flowers!!! Purple not your thing?  Well... you can work with just the sketch if you like.  Sometimes I like to think I'm clever and try to put them both together, but not this week.   I started with a white card stock base.  I stamped some leaves, and yellow flowers, and then embossed only the left side of the card.  I thought the embossing would look pretty peeking out from the flowers.  The side with the sentiment I left untouched.

 I've had a few friends going through a hard time lately - health issues - not looking good.  Thought maybe a little note from a friend might bring a smile.   I sure hope so!  

This set doesn't have a matching die so I just fussy cut them!  It was easy since the flowers are large and easy to hang on to!

Want to see more projects from the rest of the design team?  Just click on their names below to jump to thier blogs. 

Betty J

Deepti

Julia Aston

Katie Brooks

Kelly Griglione

Kimberly Wiener

Lyndal Higgins

Lynn Mangan

Michelle Williams

Michelle Lupton

Sindhu

Stephanie Severin

I hope I see you over at Fusion Card Challenge.  You have two weeks to play and I'd love to see what you're up to!

Hugs!
 


Supplies Used:  Finished Size 4.25 x 5.5"
Stamps: Stampin Up! Stippled Blossoms, Express Yourself
Embossing Folder Cuttlebug Anna Griffin Eyelet Stripe
Sequins Pretty Pink Posh
Ink:  Memento

Paper Crafts & Scrapbook Magazine Swan Song Bloghop

As a tribute to one of our favorite crafty magazines, many of us have joined together today for a farewell blog hop.  This is our sweet good bye to our friends at Paper Crafts & Scrapbook Magazine.  If you're hopping along you should have reached me from The Sweet Stamp Shop.   If you'd like to start at the beginning it starts here at Jennifer McGuire's Blog.   The theme of the hop is Friendship and Thanks and there's a rock star line up of designers with projects today.    

I've enjoyed reading Paper Crafts for so many years it's hard to explain what it's meant to me.  Just something that I suppose I took for granted.   Before they went digital I would take the magazine everywhere - sports events, going to pick up the kids from school and even vacation.  I used to love pouring over the pages flipping through the pages and dog earing the projects I wanted to case. Once I started blogging they helped me gain more confidence in my crafting.  I found their blog and started playing at Moxie Fab.  It opened a whole world to me.  I was amazed at all the different projects that evolved from the same Trigger Target. The next step was publication!  It was such a thrill to see my name in print.  My first publication was Paper Crafts Holiday Cards and More - Fall 2012.  I had made several projects, but only one was accepted.  Wow - what a first!  My project - A Note From Santa made the cover!  I just got bit by the publishing bug!   LOL!

I made two projects today featuring a fox.    The first is completely paper pieced.   

The second is copic colored - sweet and simple. 

The next stop on the hop is the fabulous  Emily Branch!

Thanks for stopping by!  I know we'll all miss the publication - it opened a  whole world of crafting to me.   I've met so many wonderful friends through the on line community Paper Crafts created.  How can I thank them for all this?   Wishing them all the best.   











Supplies Used:  Finished Size 4.25 x 5.5"
Stamps: Papertrey Ink Hello Foxy 
Dies:  Papertrey Ink Hello Foxy, MFT Snow Drifts, Spellbinder Standard Circles
Pattern Paper Echo Park "This & That" 6x6"
Card Stock:  PTI Kraft, Harvest Gold, Summer Sunrise, Terracotta Tile, SU! Tangerine Tango
Enamel Dots Doodlebug
Ink:  Versafine Onyx Black, Memento Cantaloupe

Supplies Used:  Finished Size 4.25 x 5.5"

Stamps:  Stampin Up Critters In The Forest
Dies:  Spellbinder Standard Circles, Classic Scalloped Circles, Nested Lacy Pennants
Pattern Paper October Afternoon Woodland Park 8x8
Card Stock PTI Enchanted Evening, White
Ink:  Memento Tuxedo Black, Copic Markers