Nature's Wonder

She walked down the paved road and seemed to notice for the first time the beauty in a single blade of grass,  the intricate design of a tree branch full of leaves. She realized it was so pretty and so full of wonder, this thing called Nature is...

Practicing Creativity Design's is releasing another "sequel" this month, an everyday partner set to Christmas Wonder. There are many mix and match sentiments and a few beautiful silhouette stamp images to Nature's Wonder. I've created a quick tutorial to showcase how to use the silhouette stamps to create depth on a card.

Draw a horizon line lightly in pencil onto your card base or a piece of cardstock.

Using a piece of scrap paper as a mask, stamp an image repeatedly in your lightest ink color,
followed by one or two more slightly darker ink colors.
Offset the stamp slightly or vary the angle for a more natural, flowing feel.

Stamp your main image in the darkest color of ink.
Here I was able to alter the look of the leaf stamp by inking only a part of the image
and then curving the photopolymer on my second inked pass. Stamp your sentiment.

For less bulk, punch a small circle at the crease of the card and thread your twine through.

Tie off on the front of your card.

For more wonderful eye candy using Nature's Wonder, stop by the blogs of Courtney, Paulina and Dana as have some great eye candy for you, as well as our talented guest designers Valerie, Amy and Vanessa.

Please be sure to stop by this post for your chance to win both sets being released this month!

Stained Glass

Ooh, are you all as excited as I am? Courtney has done it again and created an addition to the ever popular Look Up! Set from Practicing Creativity Designs! Today I'm showcasing the Stained Glass Technique with a short tutorial for this card featuring December's release, Look Up! Additions (which is a CASE of an old card of mine using the original Look Up! Set.)

Measure the stamp of your choice and configure even spacing,
marking and stamping with watermark ink on a cut piece of cardstock.

Emboss with black embossing powder and color and shade image with blender pens and ink or Copic markers.

Cover each section heavily with glossy accents and let dry.

Finish card by embossing the banner as scallops and the sentiment.

Add a color border on your stained glass image and adhere to card.

Finish with rhinestone embellishments.

The other Practicing Creativity Designs Gals, Courtney, Paulina and Dana have some great eye candy for you, as well as our talented guest designers Valerie, Amy and Vanessa. I'll be back tomorrow with a card and tutorial showcasing the set I designed.

Please be sure to stop by this post for your chance to win both sets being released this month!

Sequels

 

The brilliant masterminds behind the Toy Story movies sure hit the mark by showcasing the relationship of the toys with each other and their owners for three movies straight. (I knew there was a reason why I couldn't throw out the teddy bear with the shaky head and bald spots, and now I know why my boys fetch broken toys out of the garbage when I'm cleaning). If you haven't seen Toy Story 3 yet, please do-it is one of the best sequels out there, the DVD is on my (as well as my two boys') Christmas Wish List.

 

 

Welcome to the first day of the Practicing Creativity Design's December Release. For this month, I'm offering a quick photo tutorial on how each card is made! I used the villain from Toy Story 3 as an inspiration for my holiday card, I loved Lotso's colors. This card features the Emboss Resist Technique and Retro Christmas from Practicing Creativity Designs.

 

Stamp the deer image in watermark ink onto your favorite patterned paper, then stamp the antlers.

Clear emboss the image.

Rub ink around and slightly over the embossed image in a color slightly darker than the patterned paper.

I used a cotton ball, but a rag, sponge dauber or foam squares work nicely as well.

Rub any excess ink off your embossed image.

 Outline your embossed image with a permanent black marker for additional contrast.

Dry emboss your paper with Nestabilities (I used the tutorial found here.)

Assemble your card by adhering your die cut focal image to the embossed card base and stitching a few lines.

Stamp your sentiment.

Oh, and don't forget to add a pearl or gemstone for your reindeer's nose!

Please be sure to visit the blogs of Dana, Paulina and our guest designers, Valerie and Amy, for additional clues. Hop on over Courtney's blog to make a guess on what both sets are about for a chance to win!

Cyber Monday

Art Deco

Replaced by Clifford the Big Red Dog and other children's classics, my Art History textbooks/novels/bibles have long been neglected and almost forgotten, having been subjected to a top shelf in my old room at my parents' house. If I had them here, I would flip them open to the pages featuring the wonderful art deco artwork from the 1920's. Beautiful, bold colors and shapes.Vintage goodness.
Happy Thanksgiving! I'm thankful for so many things in my life-too many to list!

Have you heard the news? Check out Limelight Papercrafts for super deals and play along with the sketch challenge (while incorporating polka dots!) to have a chance at winning a Stickles Prize Pack! Just in time for holiday sparkle!! My card today features a very beautiful bloom made by Jess and the color inspiration comes from this card. 

All the details to play along can be found at Mandy's blog. Thank you, my wonderful visitors and friends, for taking the time to stop by today.

Supplies Used: 
Cardstock: (Vintage Cream) PTI
Patterned Paper: (Junebug) Basic Grey
Ink: (Wild Honey and Walnut Stain Distress) Ranger
Embellishments: (Twine) May Arts, (Brad) Making Memories
Other: (Swiss Dots Embossing Folder) Provo Craft, (Vintage Seam Binding Tape)
Tools: (Corner Chomper) WR Memory Keepers

Winter Blooms

Not much has changed from when I was little. They city council decorated the town today and I was transported back twenty some years. From the street lamps hang the retro tinsel and light lined shapes I remember from my youth. The store windows still don feathered painted white snow and rows and rows of poinsettias. Oh, the Christmas season is upon us and my spirits are lifted and merry! 'Tis the season!

This is my first time playing along at  CASE Study Challenge Blog. I was drawn to the featured card-loving the bold outlined flower, the scallops, pearls and the round shape! I added those in my design, but catering it towards the holiday season with some Christmas-y paper and sentiment.

Here's the featured CASE card by uber talented Heather Pulvirenti.

Supplies Used:
Cardstock: (Vintage Cream) PTI, (Green) CTMH
Patterned Paper: (Jovial) Basic Grey
Digital Images: (Doodle Blooms) TiffanyDoodles
Embellishments: (Pearls) Queen & Co., (Sticker Sentiment) SRM Stickers
Other: (Marker) Copic
Tools: (Circle Punch, Circle Cutting System) Creative Memories

A Chilly Panther

 

You can see your breath when you walk outside and you have to wear more than two layers to stay warm. One would think that by living in Wisconsin I would wear the Green and Gold and be absolutely fine with the cold weather and look fabulous in a cheese head. But alas, there are no (absolutely none!) Packer fans in my household. I'm a Carolina Panther Fan and my husband has been a San Fransisco 49er's fan for as long as I've known him.

Welcome to the Mini Sports Blog Hop! Thank you for stopping by from Brandi's blog. Some of my fabulous blogging friends have joined forces today to show some love for our favorite teams. Inspiration comes from so many sources! Even though the Panthers haven't had the best of seasons, they did beat the 49er's so in my book it can be called successful! I've got the Panther black and teal covered, and a touch of the football leather as well with a background created using some vintage seam binder's tape. Oh, and a bit of a wish thrown in there too for good measure!

The next play is Lisa, then Lynnette, Kelly Marie and the fourth quarter finale of Brandi (if you came mid-quarter)! I'll leave you with a couple of my very own Panthers.

Supplies Used: 
Cardstock: (Basic Black) SU, (White) Georgia Pacific, (Teal) Recollections
Ink: (Vintage Photo Distress) Ranger
Embellishments: (Sticker Sentiment) SRM Stickers, (Baker's Twine), (Metal Tag), (Decorative Tape) Pink Paislee, (Seam Tape)
Other: (Labels Four Nestabilities) Spellbinders

Put A Little...

Think of your fellow man / Lend him a helping hand  / Put a little love in your heart / You see it's getting late / Oh please don't hesitate  / Put a little love in your heart / And the world will be a better place  / And the world will be a better place  / For you and me  / You just wait and see... Put A Little Love In Your Heart (Annie Lennox duet with Al Green)
Couldn't help but think of that song while making this card for the Scrappy Saturday Challenge over at Wee Memories! It is similar in design to the card here, but this time I've embossed the Schlosser Design's circles from Circle-A-Thon and added a few more layers, a put a little pink in the design with the ribbon tab. Some might recognize these as the colors for a recent submission call, I still had them out and realized how perfect it would be for the challenge (I actually like this one better than the one I submitted). So all in all, the card came together quickly,  gotta love that!

Supplies Used:
Cardstock: (White) Georgia Pacific
Patterned Paper: (Olivia) Basic Grey
Stamps, clear: (Circle-A-Thon, Furnishing Fun) Schlosser Designs
Ink: (Watermark) Versamark
Embellishments: (Pink Grosgrain Ribbon) SU, (Rhinestone) Hero Arts
Other: (White Embossing Powder) SU, Thread

Those Big Brown Eyes

I'm thankful for those two sets of big, brown eyes, each belonging to individual boys with distinct personalities. I'm thankful for when those big, brown eyes look to me thinking that I can fix the world, or know all the answers. I'm thankful for when those big, brown eyes stop tearing up when I kiss them and tell them that their owies will be ok. I'm thankful for my two boys with those big brown eyes....

The Shabby Tea Room requested a mention what we are thankful for in our post with our entry. I used their photo as inspiration for colors and came across the focal image scrap while cleaning my craft closet. Not sure why it didn't make its way onto the intended card, but I'm happy with it now!

Supplies Used:
Cardstock: (White) Georgia Pacific (Green) CTMH
Patterned Paper: (Kioshi) Basic Grey
Stamps, clear: (Woodgrain Silhouette Additions, Funky Flowers) Wplus9
Ink: (Certainly Celery Pigment) SU, (Antique Linen Distress) Ranger
Embellishments: (Rustic Twine) PTI (Melon Grosgrain Ribbon) Offray

Already

Already you can tell she is going to be like her mother. Headstrong. Trendy. Fashionable. Already you can tell that she will be Affectionate. Caring. Graceful. Yes, she's a little diva through and through!

This duo was created with the Embellish Magazine's Color Bag Challenge in mind. I had received some wonderful "Winter Slush" goodies from Gauche Alchemy from a giveaway at the very talented Yvonne's Blog and had fun embellishing the top of the bag. (I just received word that Gauche Alchemy is having a 30% off sale on everything in the store Wednesday 11/17 through to Saturday 11/20.... The code is PATIENCE30)! Lovin' the contrast between the soft pink and hot pink-it just says diva to me! Also lovin' the natural elements with the unusual colors, so totally unlike something I normally do. (Lesson also learned to also make sure your photos are good and clear before filling your bag and giving it to its new owner!)

Supplies Used:
Cardstock: (White) Georgia Pacific (Black) SU
Stamps, clear: (Woodgrain Silhouettes) Wplus9
Ink: (Onyx Black) Versafine (Pretty in Pink, Basic Gray Pigment) SU
Embellishments: (Silver Fibers, Gray Tag, Grommet) Gauche Alchemy, (Black Polka Ribbon) May Arts, (Vintage Pink Glimmer Mist) Tattered Angels, (Hot Pink Grosgrain) Offray, (Black Grosgrain) SU
Other: (White Bag) no source