A Ticket to Wish

The world would be a rather dull and dissatisfying place if the powers to be didn't hand out Tickets to Wish. There would be no hope. There would be no prayers. Hard work would be non-existent and challenge would be obsolete. But because people wish, they in turn hope, pray, work hard and embrace challenges. Being able to wish is wonderful, beautiful.

And if I do say so myself, so is the new release from Practicing Creativity Designs, For the Love of Grids! I've used two of the large background stamps to make this card, first stamping one in saffron and the other in a light pink to create a unique base for my little collage of elements.

Hop on over to the blogs of Valerie, Dana and Courtney for more delicious eye candy featuring the new release, For the Love of Grids.

Supplies Used:
Cardstock: (So Saffron, Whisper White, Pretty in Pink) SU
Stamps: (Grids from For the Love of Grids, Sentiment from Chatterbox) Practicing Creativity Designs
Ink: (So Saffron, Pretty in Pink Pigment) SU, (Vintage Photo, Antique Linen Distress) Ranger
Embellishments: (Ivory Burlap String) May Arts, (Ticket) 
Other: (White Gel Pen) Signo
Tools: (Label Punch, Butterfly Die) SU

A Seaside Welcome

The palette of colors from Jay Gee's Nook Challenge and a Sketchy Sunday layout by Tiff (be still my heart...it is so wonderfully clean and simple!) captivated my attention...just as the ocean does with its soft array of wonderful blues, greens and whites. For this card, I combined a mix of patterned paper, a nautical charm and fiber, and a sentiment from Practicing Creativity Design's My Beach House, to represent a warm seaside salute of welcome to the newest Practicing Creativity Design Team member, Valerie from Paper and Cookies!

I also welcome you to view a sneak peak for Practicing Creativity Design's set being released this month. So excited about this one, the possibilities are endless! Visit the blogs of Dana and Valerie for more clues, and then make your final guess on Courtney's blog for a chance to win this month's release!

Supplies Used:
Cardstock: (Kraft) PTI, (Buckaroo Blue) SU
Patterned Paper: (Blue/Green from Restoration Collection) Crate Paper, (White from Olivia Collection) Basic Grey
Stamps: (My Beach House) Practicing Creativity Designs
Ink: (Walnut Stain Distress) Ranger
Other: (Natural Burlap String) May Arts, (Nautical Charm from Its All Gravy Mixed Media Kit) Guache Alchemy

Two'fer

I remember the days when my youngest baby's grins were toothless, and my oldest and I would wait and wait for his "toofers" to come in, as he called them. Long enough time ago, now he's a bit sassy and him and his mouth full of pearly whites says things like: I "arm" going to do it myself and "we gonna go water "sishin".

But I digress with those fond memories.... Today I have two cards to show you for two challenges, thus a "two-fer".

This first card is a CASE of this card by Kelly Marie for the new Lawnscaping Challenge! I kept the layout and even the patterned paper the same, but switched out the sentiment and image. The phone has a wire cord and enamel buttons. Thanks to this challenge, I learned a lot of tips from Kelly's video that she posted about the CASEd card.

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This next card is a CASE from Carly's at Paper in Bloom for the latest Waltzingmouse Stamps Release Party Contest. I really liked how Carly incorporated a fabric medium so I tried my hand at some cut canvas that I distressed with ink. I was also inspired by the layering of the stamped rose that some members did for Claire's Birthday Blog Hop, so I included that technique to my card as well.

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Supplies Used: Thinking of You
Cardstock: (So Saffron, Buckaroo Blue) SU, (Vintage Cream) PTI
Patterned Paper: (Thrift Shop Collection) October Afternoon
Stamps: (Just My Type, Sophie's Sentiments) Lawn Fawn
Ink: (Onyx Black) Versafine, (Antique Linen, Vintage Photo Distress) Ranger, (Taken with Teal Pigment) SU
Other: (Black Enamel Accents) Ranger, (Yellow Marker) Copic, (Black Wire) Making Memories


Supplies Used: Birthday Wishes
Cardstock: (Vintage Cream) PTI, (Naturals Ivory) SU
Patterned Paper: (Wanted Collection) Cosmo Cricket
Stamps: (Roses in Bloom, Teeny Trees) Waltzingmouse Stamps
Ink: (Walnut Stain, Vintage Photo, Antique Linen Distress) Ranger, (Taken with Teal Pigment) SU
Embellishments: (Designer Chipboard Button) SRF, (Handmade Dictionary Button), (Canvas) Maya Road, (Natural Burlap String) May Arts
Other: (Yellow Marker) Copic
Tools: (Petite Scallop Circle Nestabilties) Spellbinders, (Tag Punch) McGill

Bling and a Vase

As I've said many times, I am blessed to have a house full of blue jeans, dirty socks, mud caked boots, cars and trucks and two little boys. Not too much pink around this part of town...

Whew! This monochromatic card marks the final challenge for me for Moxie Fab World's Color Inspiration for Card Maker's Week and thus the most personally difficult in terms of color. So happy that I stuck with creating something for all six color schemes! I am not exposed to much pink in my house and it extends to my craft area so I search high and low for solid colors that matched the swatches. (I think I might have blown about ten inches of dust off each paper piece.) I also resisted the urge to pile on the frills and layers that I usually associate with this hue and kept it clean and simple with a few stamps from Furnishing Fun by Schlosser Designs.

A few notes to myself: Stamped the shelf in chalk ink and then kissed it with the woodgrain stamp-cool effect, must try again. Softened the edges of the main panel with some white ink to add a bit of dimension (hard to see in the photograph)-remember this ink gets everywhere! Make more of these in other monochromatic hues for a card set, perhaps adding glossy accents instead of rhinestones if the bling is running low...

Supplies Used:
Cardstock: (Pinks) The Paper Company
Stamps: (Vase, Flowers and Shelf from Furnishing Fun) Schlosser Designs, (Woodgrain from Woodgrain Silhouettes) WPlus9, (Sentiment from Fillable Frames #2) PTI
Ink: (Pixie Pink Pigment) SU, (Pink Chalk) Colorbox, (Fresh Snow) PTI
Markers: (Regal Rose, Rose Red) SU
Embellishments: (Rhinestones) Basic Grey
Other: (White Gel Pen) Signo, (Colored Pencils) Prismacolor

The Zone

Stepping out of my comfort zone is a quite intimidating but I know if I want to grow and journey on the route of self achievement, then I feel the need to do it. I'll just take little steps. Little steps, like the colors of purple and teal. Little steps, like patterned paper.

And little steps, like completing all of the Color Inspiration for Cardmakers' Week issued at MoxieFab World. This is my second to last, an entry for Jewel Tones combination. Dana issued a fantastic challenge for Yvonne's Guest Designer's Challenge, so I took a slightly larger step by stamping directly onto the patterned paper.

I feel like I put on a few wandering miles during this leg of my journey, yet went back on track with a clean design.

Supplies Used:
Cardstock: (Vintage Cream) PTI, (Teal) EK Successs
Patterned Paper: (Restoration Line) Crate Paper
Stamps: (Silhouettes from Nature's Wonder) Practicing Creativity Designs, (Sentiment from Teeny Trees) Waltzingmouse Stamps
Ink: (Elegant Eggplant, Taken with Teal Pigment) SU, (Vintage Photo Distress) Ranger
Other: (Colored Pencils) Prismacolor, (Thread)

Feelin' Kinda...

Neutral. Not happy, not sad. Not chatty, not mute. Just neutral this week. Good things and bad things have all tumbled together these past few days to make me feel, well, you guessed it, kinda neutral.

Which is why tonight is a good tie to post my card for Moxie Fab World's Color Inspiration for Card Maker's Week: Neutral Challenge. I am smitten with the vintage buttons (thanks to my fabulous sister,  Heather) and the spattering of feathers (thanks to my handsome husband). Using feathers helps to Extend the Background of my sentiment panel- a fabulous tip I learned from Mandy, Yvonnne's Guest Designer.

If you have time, I'd invite you to read this post from Lora, the current Moxie Fabber of the Week. Thank you Lora, your post helped me a lot tonight...

Supplies Used: 
Cardstock: (Ivory, Gray Blue) from my stash
Stamps: (Bird) SU, (Sentiment from Fillable Frames #2) PTI
Ink: (Basic Grey Pigment) SU
Embellishments: (Vintage Buttons), (Natural Burlap String) May Arts
Tools: (Labels One Nestabilities) Spellbinders

All the Best

All the Best... What a wonderful sentiment. All the best in love, in fortune, in happiness. All the best in Life.

TiffanyDoodles is debuting the last image in her new flower series, the Nicotiana. I printed the dainty flower image twice after reversing it in an image editing program, colored with pencils and distressed it heavily. The layout was inspired by this skech from the talented Tiffany Johnson. (You'll notice I wasn't quite daring enough to banner my sentiment and instead chose to replace that with some burlap string and then placed my sentiment where the button is depicted.)

This next card was my first attempt at the Nicotiana image. I had a friend very recently and unexpectedly loose her daughter (who was my age!). My friend is a gardener, not at all a flashy person and quite down to earth so I chose a more subdued color palette for this sympathy card.

All three new flower sets will be available in the TiffanyDoodles Store on Friday the 28th. Buy all three sets and receive 10% discount through the weekend.

 

Supplies Used on All the Best: Kraft Cardstock-PTI, White Cardstock-Georgia Pacific, Nicotiana Image-TiffanyDoodles, Sentiment Stamp from Chatterbox by Practicing Creativity Designs, Vintage Photo and Antique Linen Distress Ink-Ranger, Colored Pencils-Prisma, Natural Burlap String-May Arts

Supplies Used on With Sympathy: White Cardstock-Georgia Pacific, Sweet Pea Collection Patterned Paper-SU, Nicotaniana Image-TiffanyDoodles, Mega Mixed Messages Stamp-PTI, Vintage Photo Distress Ink-Ranger, Colored Pencils-Prisma, Natural Burlap String-May Arts, Labels Eight Nestabilities-Spellbinders, Corner Round Punch-SU

In My World

In My World...there are bright turquoise and pink regal song birds flying through the air...there is just enough money to pay all the bills and have enough left over for fun things...all my family would live close (enough)...In My World...

Popping by with a quick card I put together after being inspired by this beautiful and regal pendant from Nanny's Room for the Etsy Inspired Challenge. I grabbed an this warbler image from TiffanyDoodles that has been sitting on my table for a long time-just waiting to be colored-then saturated the bird first with water from an Aqua Painter and then went back in with some pigment markers, removing excess colors with a cloth.

Tiffany is also sneaking another new beautiful flower image that will be available this Friday.

So, I'd like to know...What's in Your World?

Supplies Used:
Cardstock: (White) Georgia Pacific, (Teal) Paper Company
Digital Image: (Warbler2) TiffanyDoodles
Stamps: (Mega Mixed Messages) PTI
Ink: (Onyx Black) Versafine
Markers: (Rich Regals Pigment) SU
Embellishments: (Black Brad) SU, (Pink Satin Ribbon) SU
Tools: Aqua Painter, (Labels One Nestabilities) Spellbinders

Invitations

First and foremost, they needed to be cute and they needed to be bright. They needed to reflect the joy of a new little boy arriving soon. They needed to have some kind of animal depicted to reflect my sister being a veterinarian. And lastly, they needed to be flat enough to mail mostly cross country.

I started with this cute digital puppy image from TiffanyDoodles, added the text, printed four to a sheet and adhered them a quarter each to red, blue, yellow or green cardstock with staples. I finished with either a rhinestone or a dot of bright paint for the puppy's tag.

Tiffany is debuting three new images this week, here's a sneak of the first image. Pretty, right?

NFC Championship

The Chicago Bears host the Green Bay Packers today to hammer it out for the NFC Championship Title and a trip to the Superbowl-the two haven't met in this situation for 70 years! Although I'm not a Packer Fan, I do live in Wisconsin and it would be great to see our economy get the boost it needs if they win. So with that I say, Go Pack Go!

Plus....Jing-Jing left a comment on a previous post that she would root for the Packers if I played along with the Color Room Challenge #42 this week! After stamping the butterflies in watermark ink, I applied a few colors of mist to an acrylic block, misted it with water and then applied it over the butterflies. A neat effect for a background, but I wanted my butterflies to stand out a bit more for a focal point so I stamped over them in ink. The rest of the card came together with a sketch from Skipping Stones Designs. I chose a versatile sentiment is from Furnishing Fun by Schlosser Designs, I could send it out for a birthday or anniversary I think. I really went out of my comfort zone here, tried a complex layout and new products, so I think this is a great fit to the Wee Memories Challenge: Free Your Creativity-Anything Goes.

Supplies Used:
Cardstock: (Vintage Cream) PTI, (Green) Recollections
Patterned Paper: (Basic Grey)
Stamps: (Sentiment from Furnishing Fun) Schlosser Designs, (Butterflies) Martha Stewart, (For the Love of Dots) Practicing Creativity Designs
Ink: (Brocade Blue Pigment) SU, (Antique Linen Distress) Ranger
Embellishments: (Button Junkie's Wrinkle Ribbon), (Button) 
Other: (Hermit the Frog Vibz Mist) Shimmerz, (Honey Dew, Dragonfly Glimmer Mist) Tattered Angels
Tools: (Petite Scalloped Circles Nestabilties) Spellbinders, (Circle Cutting System) Creative Memories