Soft Leaves

Still thinking of Spring here, where the leaves and buds start showing up on the branches
that are well rested from Winter.

Winnie & Walter is hosting their Third Birthday Bash with a series of challenges, and tonight I am participating in their Pattern Making Challenge. I started with the large leaf image from Addie's Garden and stamped it in various shades of green onto watercolor paper. I then utilized the backside of the stamp and inked it up and stamped over the leaf image.

I filled in the area with yellow tones of the smaller leaf and then spritzed the panel with water. I finished the card with a sentiment from Ellen Hutson and some Nuvo Drops.

Spring Tulips

For a week, we had really, really nice weather-the tulips and daffodil bulbs were just starting to peek out from the ground- and then boom, close to ten inches of snow fell this weekend. I saw the inspiration photo for the February Altenew Challenge and decided to bring some spring weather back into my life.

I stamped with distress ink the stems and bulbs from the outline stamps Altenew's Tulip Stamp Set based on the colors from the inspiration picture and then filled in with watercolor the images and background. 

I then added some ink splatters and a sentiment banner and adhered the image to a card base bordered with a fuschia cardstock strip.

Yellow Bird

There's nothing like a good CAS (clean and simple) card and I do so very much enjoy making them. There's something about creating a beautiful card without many layers, patterns or elements. Lucky for me, A Blog Named Hero' February Challenge is CAS.

I started my card by heat embossing in white onto yellow cardstock the outline bird image from Color Layering Dimensional Bird.  I then lightly and simply colored parts in with Copics.

The bird rests on a white cardstock base with some inked clouds and a tree branch die cut from a Memory Box die. I stamped some leaves and added a sentiment from an old Hero Arts set. I finished the card by rounding one corner. I hope you all are enjoying your weekend!

Sending Hugs

**Please scroll down or click here for my post of the last day for the
Lil' Inker Designs February 2017 Release**

Today marks my last day as My Favorite Things Guest Designer for their Card Challenges. I have thoroughly enjoyed making cards based on the sketched and truly honored to have worked with their products. This week offers up another fun sketch.

I used the extra cute, new Friends Furever Stamp and Die set as the focal point in my card, bordering the bear and pup with the Single Stitched Rounded Square Frame Dies. Before adhering these pals to the card base, I stenciled a light background using the Chevron Grid Stencil, and then finished the card with a sentiment from Lots of Hugs and a die cut word from Twice the Hugs Die.

What an exciting opportunity to be a guest designer for My Favorite Things for their Card Challenges, I hope you will be able to join along and showcase your amazing projects! I would be tickled pink if you wanted to follow my blog, like my facebook page or instagram feed!

LID:: February 2017 Release:: Day 3

Welcome to the final day of the Lil' Inker Designs February 2017 Release Showcase...full of innovative, fun and beautiful items! Once again, we have a fabulous hop for you featuring new stamps and dies perfect for spring and really, every day! If you are following the hop, you should have arrived from the ever so talented Jessica's Blog! (Visit the Lil' Inker Design's Blog for the full link up.)

My first card today showcases the Brush Script Spring Word Dies, and is a favorite project of mine from this release. I simply stamped and colored the beautiful image from the previously released Corner Adorner Stamp Set and a sentiment from Reap a Harvest, and added the new word die from Brush Script Spring Word Dies.

Here's a look at the new release product showcased in my project today:

It is with pleasure that I get to send you to the talented Lisa Henke's Blog as the next stop along the hop. I hope you get a chance to visit the Lil' Inker Design Store now as all the NEW FEBRUARY 2017 RELEASE products are already up at the store!

Don't forget to leave a unique comment along the each of the stops on the hop! Laura, the amazing owner, has decided to up the ante and graciously giveaway the ENTIRE release to one lucky commenter! (Details are in the image).

LID:: February 2017 Release:: Day 2

Welcome to the second day of the Lil' Inker Designs February 2017 Release Showcase...full of innovative, fun and beautiful items! Once again, we have a fabulous hop for you featuring new stamps and dies perfect for spring and really, every day! If you are following the hop, you should have arrived from the ever so talented Jessica's Blog! (Visit the Lil' Inker Design's Blog for the full link up.)

My first card today showcases a variety of new products. First, I just adore the background here, created with the Quilted Stitched So Sunny Die. With this die, it is so easy to create a beautiful backdrop for all other fabulous dies and stamps! I then used the Sweet Celebration Stamps and Dies to decorate the card front with a wreath, flowers and vellum banner. Finally, I die cut the sentiment using the Celebrate Word Die. I can see myself using these products for many, many future cards that celebrate many events!

My next card is special because my oldest son created the background using the ink blending technique for the fabulous Rustic Spring Stamps and coordinating Rustic Spring Dies.

I die cut and colored the sweet bicycle, basket and flowers as well as the word happy and arranged them on the inked background using Rustic Spring Stamps and coordinating Rustic Spring Dies. I then added a double banner from the Sweet Celebration Dies. The panel was bordered in kraft and adhered to a white card base. Simple, but oh so fun. I am pleased to say that my son liked the outcome as well!

Here's a look at the new release products showcased in my two projects today:

It is with pleasure that I get to send you to the talented Lisa Henke's Blog as the next stop along the hop. I hope you get a chance to visit the Lil' Inker Design Store now as all the NEW FEBRUARY 2017 RELEASE products are already up at the store!

Don't forget to leave a unique comment along the each of the stops on the hop! Laura, the amazing owner, has decided to up the ante and graciously giveaway the ENTIRE release to one lucky commenter! (Details are in the image).

Create Together

** Please scroll down or click here for my LID:: February 2017:: Day 1 post**

I have the honor to participate in a Create Together post with the very talented Marcie Sharp from Sharp Designs: Cardmaking in the Country. Each and every one of her creations is so unique and inspiring, a truly talented cardmaker she is. Marcie chose the below inspiration picture for us to be inspired by. I loved the gorgeous, bright, loose watercolor blooms in this picture accented with the bold black!

I also wanted to create another project for Winnie & Walter's Third Birthday Bash so I worked with Shay's Challenge of Threes. I started by heat embossing three tulip flower tops and and stems from Addie's Garden onto watercolor paper, then loosely used shades of red, yellow and green watercolor to color them in. I finished with a black and white striped border.

(I have to mention that I did have detail shots and a way better focal picture for today, however, they were saved onto my main computer...the same computer who's power cord decided to fail and now I can't access my files until a new one arrives. I'll be updating my post with the original photographs when I have access again, in the meantime, thank you for looking!)

Please stop by Sharp Design to see Marcie's take on the beautiful inspiration picture!

LID:: February 2017 Release:: Day 1

Today is the first of three days of the Lil' Inker Designs February 2017Release Showcase...full of innovative, fun and beautiful items! Once again, we have a fabulous hop for you featuring new stamps and dies perfect for spring and really, every day! If you are following the hop, you should have arrived from the ever so talented Jessica's Blog! (Visit the Lil' Inker Design's Blog for the full link up.)

One of the adorable, hip bunnies from Bunny Buddies is the star of my show on my first card. I stamped, embossed and watercolored the hip guy, and die cut him out. 

He was mounted onto a panel cut from one of the fun designs from the Tribal Chic Paper Pad and Dual Dotted Rectangle Dies. I masked the balloon and stamped just the bunny onto some speckled white cardstock before mounting the focal panel. I finished the card with a die cut word from the new Celebrate Word Die.

This next fun card features some really cool, new products too! I created the background with an innovative die called the Color Blocking Die. This die essentilly divides your card panel into three pieces with the nice die edge. You can use it to get three cardstock panels, or a nice color angle element, just to name a couple! It takes the guess work out of angled measurements and leaves the nice, crisp and even die cut line. Here I used it in conjunction with three bright cardstock panels, two of which were stamped with images from the Cat Treats Stamp Set. One panel was bordered with a black sentiment die cut from the Happy Birthday Border Die. 

I then stamped and die cut one of the cute kitties from Cat Treats Stamp Set and corresponding Cat Treats Die Set, coloring a few elements with boldly with markers. That finished up the card!

Here's a look at the new release products showcased in my two projects today:

It is with pleasure that I get to send you to the talented Lisa Henke's Blog as the next stop along the hop. I hope you get a chance to visit the Lil' Inker Design Store now as all the NEW FEBRUARY 2017 RELEASE products are already up at the store!

Don't forget to leave a unique comment along the each of the stops on the hop! Laura, the amazing owner, has decided to up the ante and graciously giveaway the ENTIRE release to one lucky commenter! (Details are in the image).

Off the Page Blooms

Winnie & Walter has a fabulous series of challenges for their Third Birthday Bash. My first card was created with Keren's Off the Page Challenge. I stamped and fussy cut six flowers from Addie's Garden onto various shades of red cardstock, inked the edges and added white highlights with a gel pen to the center. They were adhered to a white cardstock base with hand-drawn stems-the top red, hot pink and fuchsia blooms all hang over the edge of the cardstock. A sentiment from Simon Says Stamps and a few black Nuvo Drops finish off the card.

There are a few more challenges that I will be participating in, so please stay tuned for more creations!

Friend

The excitement continues on Wednesdays as I am once again guest designing for My Favorite Things for their Card Challenges. This week offers up a fun sketch.

I started by stamping the Denim Background Stamp in a rainbow of colors and dic-utting the new Friend Dienamic five times. I added two cute birdies from Friends Furever along with a matching sentiment. Love how this turned out!

What an exciting opportunity to be a guest designer for My Favorite Things for their Card Challenges, I hope you will be able to join along and showcase your amazing projects! I would be tickled pink if you wanted to follow my blog, like my facebook page (link on the right) or instagram feed!

Marbled

How was your weekend? I had a delightful one, one where I taught my boys a bit about cleaning and cooking...here's to hoping they remember what I've taught and can help more in the future.

I'm playing along with the intriguing challenge over at Winnie & Walter's Gossip Column with Taheerah Atchia No. 6: Marbling. I attempted a marbling technique by filling a cake pan with 1/2" inch of clean water and then sprinkling a mix of blue and purple hued Color Bursts. I laid some watercolor paper on top and let the colors mix.

I then cut the marbled paper into a container pot shape onto a white card base that was sprinkled with blue ink and added some succulent based flowers from Winnie & Walter's Addie's Garden Stamp Set. 

Space Explorer

The excitement continues for me for my second week of guest designing for My Favorite Things for their Card Challenges. This week offers up a fun sketch.

I used the extra cute, brand new Space Explorer Stamp Set and dies to help me recreate the sketch. I started with a custom sky galaxy background, and die cut a channel with the Circle Spinner Channels to let the little astronaut spin around in space. I finished with a sentiment mixed from Space Explorer and Hog Heaven. So here's some pictures of the little guy spinning around.

What an exciting opportunity to be a guest designer for My Favorite Things for their Card Challenges, I hope you will be able to join along and showcase your amazing projects! I would be tickled pink if you wanted to follow my blog, like my facebook page (link on the right) or instagram feed!