Outlines Pick a Posy challenge

Our team challenge this week for Outlines Rubber Stamp is to Pick a Posy; that is to make a card using the Mix and Match Posy series of stamps.  Please stop by and visit the rest of the incredibly talented team and see what they have created for you.

Bev Gerard, Jeanne Streiff, Jenny Gropp, Lisa Silver, Robin Kirkpatrick , Vicki Garrett

I began my card by picking out my paper, settling on this lovely striped paper from My Mind's Eye.  To build my flower, I started on the bottom with H-1021 Oval Posy X Lg, then E-1027 Wavy Posy Med, topped with D-1040 Round Posy Sm.  I stamped each of them onto Cryogen white paper with Memento Tuxedo black ink.  Copics used: BG32, YG05, V12, V15, YG01 and I airbrushed the gems with V09.  I added some silver Viva Decor Pearl Pen to the center dots on the top flower. Using dimensional dots, I popped up the top 2 layers of the flower before adding it to my card.  I also stamped E-1046 Posy Leaf 2 onto Cryogen, using YG05 to color it.  The lovely Canadian Kaleidoscope Doily from Cheery Lynn Designs made a perfect backdrop for the flower.  The circle sentiment is also part of the Mix and Match Posy series, it can be used as a replacement Posy center or as I used it on it's own.  It is from F-1049 Posy Greeting Centers.  I punched some matching circles and then popped it up as well.  Finished size is 6" square.

Cheery Lynn Designs Heart to Heart Doily and New Releases

Great news, the new releases from Cheery Lynn Designs are now in the store.  Here is one more card I made using the new Heart to Heart Doily dies from Cheery Lynn Designs.  I used red mirror card for the lacy red heart, the solid center heart and the border piece.  I used my new Stitcher Plate on the red mirror card border to give it some great texture.  The lovely heart border is my Frills and Hearts border die.  Finished size is 4.25 x 5.5 inches. 

Make It Colourful Challenge - Something other than white cardstock

We have a fabulous collection of "color-ers" on the new Make It Colourful Design Team.  Zoe, our amazing leader, has issued a challenge to color on something other than white cardstock: Kraft paper, tissue paper (candles), embellishments, acetate, greyboard, and more...

For my card, I wanted to see if I could use a digi image on vellum.  I began by taking Make It Crafty Tulip digi image into Adobe Photoshop Elements.  I changed the color of the outline to a light gray then using a highest quality setting, I printed it onto 36# vellum.  For my first attempts, I heat embossed it with Silver Detail embossing powder, which worked fabulously.  But I decided I did not like the silver outline and just printed it in light gray for this card.   Working from the back side of the image, I rubbed the vellum with wax paper, then dry embossed the outlines, basically just traced it.  This creates a raised white image on the front of the vellum.  Then I colored the tulips, again from the back side, with Memento markers.  I added some embossed dots, backed it with navy card stock and then slid it into the corner punches of my green card stock.  Finished size is 4.25 x 5.5 inches. 

Be sure to stop by the Make It Colourful website to see all the other amazing creations from our team.  We really do have the best "color-ers" on the Web.

Emma and Elliot Valentine

I have been making card samples for Cheery Lynn Designs using their new Heart to Heart Doily dies.  Here is another of my creations.

This one uses the 5 different pieces from the Heart to Heart Doily dies.  Also I used the new Stitcher plate on the pink heart, embossing it for added texture and used the Piercing plate on the solid white heart, again embossing some texture to the paper.  Click on the picture for a closer view.  The images are from Karen's Doodles, Emma and Elliot Valentine digi images.  Finished size is 6" square.

Karen's Doodles Butterfly Puppy

I decided to participate in today's Oldies but Goodies post over at Karen's Doodles Challenge blog.  This is a chance for you to get a peek at some of Karen's older images that you may have missed. And hopefully inspire you to create.

For my card, I used Butterfly Puppy  Isn't he a sweetie?  This great DP is from the Basic Grey Kioshi collecton.  I created the flowers using my Nellie Snellen flower and leaf punches.  They come in a set of two, one punches, the other embosses.  You can see the great dimension to the flower.   Finished size is 6" square. 

Be sure to stop by the Karen's Doodles Challenge blog to see the cards from my other team members.  And won't you join us in the Buttons Galore challenge this week  for a chance to win Karen's Doodles digi images. 

Cheery Lynn Designs CHA Sneakpeek

This weekend is the Craft and Hobby Association Trade show in California.  Cheery Lynn Designs will be there displaying all their fabulous dies and as well as presenting some new dies.  For today's card, I have used 3 new products that will be released at the show.

I started by cutting a card base using a folded piece of Cryogen card stock and my largest Scallop Circle XL Stackers die.  By sliding the fold of the card down the die just a bit, I can cut a card shape that is round but hinged on the top.  With the same die, I cut a lavender scallop circle and attached it to the card base.  Next using a piece of soft green Stardreams paper, I cut out the new English Doily die attaching it to the lavender scallop circle.  I cut a small circle out of lavender for the center, again using my Scallop Circle XL Stackers die .  Before attaching it to my English Doily, I used the new Circle Stitcher plate, embossing to give it faux stitches all over the circle.  Next came the center starburst, which I die cut using the new Canadian Kaleidoscope Doily, I just hand trimmed the center portion out.  The last step was to add some accents with my Viva Decor Pearl pen.  Finished size 5 5/8 inches.

Don't forget to become a follower of Cheery Lynn Designs and display the blog candy blinkie on your blog for a chance to win a $40 shopping spree.  Check here for details.

Bird Watching

Here is one of the daily visitors to my suet feeder in the backyard, a male Red Bellied Woodpecker.  I don't think he is in any danger of starving, lol.  He is quite vocal if the suet feeder is empty.  And he will also hang on the big bird feeder and help himself to seed.  I love watching the birds, today with the help of my friend, Bonnie, I identified a Northern Flicker that stopped by.  I was not able to get a clear picture but hope he will come back by soon.

Outlines Simply Square

Our team challenge this week for Outlines Rubber Stamp, is Simply Square; that is to use squares somewhere on our card.  Please stop by and visit the rest of the incredibly talented team and see what they have created for you.

Jeanne Streiff, Jenny Gropp, Lisa Silver, Robin Kirkpatrick , Vicki Garrett

Those of you who follow my blog posts know that I love tall cards, so I jumped at the chance to make a tall card with my square stamps.   First I decided what color scheme I wanted to use; I settled on mint green, lavender and fuchsia (not pink, lol) and black for framing.  Next I hunted through my collection of stamps and picked out E-400 Balloon Bouquet Sq. Large, C-238 Happy, C-239 Birthday and E-401 Candles Sq. Large.

I stamped the word stamps on all 3 colors of card stock, then trimmed the outer two rectangles off the fuchsia, the outer rectangle off the lavender and used all the mint rectangles as the base.  For the larger squares, I stamped them on mint and fuchsia, trimming the outer square off the lavender stampings.  I then stamped the larger squares onto Cryogen paper and trimmed just the inner square out to color.  I picked Copics that coordinated with the paper: RV13, RV17, BV01, BV04, G00, G02, Y13, YR04, YR18 and BG0000 for the background.

Using dimensional tape, I popped up each of the layers before mounting them on the card base.  You can see the wonderful dimension on the pic at the right, click on it for a closer look.

Again, I have created a wonderful card using only stamps and card stock.  No fancy paper needed.  Finished size is 4 x 9.25 inches; it fits a standard No 10 Business envelope.

My Basset Girl

It has been a year this week that my sweet basset hound, Molly went to the Rainbow Bridge.  She was my constant companion for almost 11 years and I miss her everyday.  At Christmas I was presented with an incredible gift.  Bev, a dear friend and one of the ladies from my monthly stamping class, asked her niece, Leslie Frick from Custom Creations by Rika to create a Molly sculpture for me.  Using photos of Molly, she sculpted this amazing mini statue.

She captured Molly's features and coloring, even all her freckles and the little spot of white on her back.

Incredible amount of detail in a sculpture that is only 4 inches wide by 2 inches tall.

I will treasure this always and thank Bev and Leslie for such a wonderful gift.  As most of you know, I am team leader for Karen's Doodles and I asked Karen if she would draw me a basset girl, and here she is.....

I sized and printed this cute little girl onto Cryogen paper with my inkjet printer.  Copics used:
Basset - E17, E13, E51, W1
Eyes - E97
Hat - YR20, YR21
Flowers - B32, B21

She will be available soon for purchase from Karen's store.  I used my Cheery Lynn Designs Heart to Heart Doily dies for the hearts and added leaves from their Dimensional Leaves 2 Large set.  The DP is from Bo Bunny.  Finished size is 6" square.

Cheery Lynn Designs Heart to Heart Doily

Before I show you today's project, don't forget to check out the great $40 Blog Candy Giveaway going on at the Cheery Lynn Designs blog.  What a wonderful opportunity to get some fabulous dies and embossing plates.

We introduced the new Dimensional Leaves dies on Saturday but I also want to share with you the new Heart to Heart Doily dies now available in the store.

For my card, I started with the largest of the Heart to Heart Doily dies, cutting it out of pink and then the DP.  I saved the pink drop out heart for a future project.  I hand cut the darker pink panel behind the die, quite easy to do.  Next I added cute little Tilda, stamped on Cryogen paper with Memento Tuxedo black ink.  Copics used:
Tilda - E000, E00, E11, R20
Hair - E21, YR12
Dress and Bow - RV32, RV34
Tights - RV32
Shadow - C0
I used two of the dies from  D134 Dimensional Small Leaves 2 for the leaves around my lovely roses.  After die cutting them, I shaded the edges with Brushed Corduroy Distress ink.  I stamped the sentiment from Hero Arts with Brushed Corduroy then die cut the circle using my Scallop Circle Little Stackers Nesting die.  The wonderful DP is from Bo Bunny.  Finished size is 6" square.

Products Used:

Outlines Sweethearts Challenge

Our team challenge this week for Outlines Rubber Stamp, is to make a Sweethearts card; that is to use hearts somewhere on our card.  Please stop by and visit the rest of the incredibly talented team and see what they have created for you.

Bev Gerard, Jeanne Streiff, Jenny Gropp, Lisa Silver, Robin Kirkpatrick , Vicki Garrett

One of the things that drew me to Outlines is all the cool borders and background stamps they have.  This card was made with black card stock and a deep pink card stock, no other paper at all.  I started with a 5.5" black card base.  Then I created each of the panels using a different stamp, left to right,Small Dot Background, Triple Stripe Background and Double Heart Strip.  Next came Hugs (on sale right now), I stamped it twice and popped up the center word.  Last was Heart Flowers Square Lg, again stamped twice to pop up the center panel.  I used the outer border of the second stamping of the flowers square to create the 2 striped pieces.  I stamped all the images with Versacolor Black ink and heat embossed with clear embossing powder.  The white and green coloring was done with Glaze pens.  This card is really much prettier in person but it is tough to scan or photo dimensional cards like this.  Thanks for stopping by.

Karen's Doodles Challenge 46 - Tent Topper Card

This week at Karen's Doodles Challenge blog, our hostess, Chris has given us a challenge to make a Tent Topper Card.  If you don't know how, you can find a great tutorial on Split Coast Stampers. 

For my card, I used Karen's Doodles newest image called Bigsby's in Love, her name is Belinda.  Aren't they cute?  I used my Scallop Circle XL Stackers and Hearts and Frills die, both from Cheery Lynn Designs.  The DP is last year's Valentines paper from Archivers.  Finished size is 6" square.

Won't you please join in on the fun at Karen's Doodles challenge blog? You could win....

1st Place - 3 Digi stamps of your choice from Karen's Doodles
2nd Place - 2 Digi stamps of your choice from Karen's Doodles
3rd Place - 1 Digi stamps of your choice from Karen's Doodles

New Dimensional Leaves at Cheery Lynn Designs

Today the design team at Cheery Lynn Designs blog is giving you a peek at the new sets of Dimension Leaves dies from Cheery Lynn Designs.  There are 4 sets, D136 Large Leaves 2, D134 Small Leaves 2, D135 large Leaves 1 and D133 Small Leaves 1.

Not only do these dies cut fabulous shapes, they also emboss the veins in the leaves.  And each set has a matching acorn for your Fall designs.  So let's see what the team has come up with.  Be sure to click on each team members creation to see the wonderful detail in the leaves.

For my card, I used 3 different leaves from Large Leaves 2 and Small Leaves 1 as well as my Tropical Flower die.  I began with my Daisy Garden XL embossing plate for the background, using text weight Stardreams paper for a fabulous shimmer.  Next came the frame die cut using my Scallop Circles XL Stackers with a Circle XL Stacker layered in the center.  I was able to cut the frame in one pass of my Big Shot.  Of course, I had to add a Lattice, I can't seem to create without using them, I love them so.  The image, Shy Valentine Nessa is from Mo Manning, printed on Cryogen paper with my inkjet printer.  Copics used:
Nessa - E000, E00
Hair - E15
Dress and Socks - RV25, RV00
Heart - RV21, B0000
Shoes - C1
I added Viva Decor Pearl Pen accents on the flowers and the scallops.  Finished size is 6" square.  Be sure to stop by the team blog to see what the rest of our designers have created for you.

Help for Katie

Katie Emmerson Renz married to Kevin with 3 beautiful boys the twins Nate & Will aged 5 and Hunter aged 10 had some news just before Christmas that has rocked their world as they know it.

Katie has been diagnosed with stage 4 Stomach Cancer and is currently undergoing her only option which is Chemotherapy.

Katie is a fellow crafter and is loved within the crafting community.you can read Katie's story on her own blog here.  A huge group of the talented artists have designed images for the Help for Katie cause which can be yours for donating to Katie's cause.  You can see all the details on Jak's blog, what a great collection of digi images as well as some fabulous prizes.  Please share this link with all your friends.  Jak is collecting to help with Katie's Treatment and to give her lovely boys a treat too.

For my card, I have used Mo Manning's new Sprout.

I sized and printed Sprout onto Cryogen paper with my inkjet printer.  Copics used:
Sprout - E000, E00, R20
Hair - E11, E08
Bibs - E25
Patches - RV25, R29
Top - RV21, RV25
Shoes - RV21, C1
Pot - E95, E97
Plant - G21
I originally did not have the scalloped circle on the card, I had more of the heart stickers, so when I added it the bright white of the Cryogen looked bad against the off white of the sentiment DP.  So I took an E51 and colored around the image, ick, too yellow, so I took an E40 and colored over that, better.  It looks a little splotchy but I kind of like the look.  I used my Cheery Lynn Designs Scallop Coved Rectangle Stackers dies, my Scallop Heart Circle Stackers and Frills and Heart Border die for all the layers of the card.  Finished size is 5 x 7 inches.

Karen's Doodles Oldies but Goodies

Since I missed Monday's Monochromatic challenge at Karen's Doodles challenge blog, I decided to participate in today's Oldies but Goodies post.  This is a chance for you to get a peek at some of Karen's older images that you may have missed. And hopefully inspire you to create. 

For my card, I chose to use Cupid Teddy Bear  Isn't he just an adorable little guy?  I used my Cheery Lynn Designs Scallop French Flair Stackers dies for the background DP as well as the frame, adding Lattice 2 to the frame.  I die cut the circles using my Scallop Circle Stackers.   I added lots of dots with my Viva Decor Pearl Pen, put some hearts in the shaker and I was done.  Finished size is 6" square.  Be sure to stop by the Karen's Doodles Challenge blog to see the cards from my other team members.  And won't you join us in the challenge for a chance to win Karen's Doodles digi images. 

Cheery Lynn Designs Fancy Flair Basket

Before I show you today's project, don't forget to check out the great $40 Blog Candy Giveaway going on at the Cheery Lynn Designs blog.  What a wonderful opportunity to get some fabulous dies and embossing plates.

Continuing our color challenge this week to use red, white and black, I have created this cool basket.  It measures 5.5 inches across, it took almost 2 11oz. bags of Hershey Kisses to fill it!  Then I realized the pictures looked better without the candy in the basket.

I used my largest Scallop French Flair XL Stackers die for the basket, cutting a chipboard piece for both the front and the back to make it sturdy. It is so nice that these dies will cut through light weight chipboard.  (I save all my cereal and cracker boxes, they are the perfect thickness.)  I created the gorgeous handle using my Frills and Hearts Border die; this die is over 12 inches long.  Perfect size for a basket handle or a scrapbook page!

Using my Lattice 1 die, I cut the white lattice piece, turning it on its point before mounting it in the Scallop Circle XL Stackers die cut. I added some roses from my stash and added leaves from my Bird on a Branch 2 die.

Outlines Valentines Day challenge

Our team challenge this week for Outlines Rubber Stamp, is to make a Valentines card and to use a fabulous product (new to me) called Viva Decor Pearl Pens.  Please stop by and visit the rest of the incredibly talented team and see what they have created for you.

Bev Gerard, Jeanne Streiff, Jenny Gropp, Lisa Silver, Robin Kirkpatrick , Vicki Garrett

For my card, I started with my Outlines Heart Vine, stamping it with VersaColor black ink onto Cryogen paper and embossing it with clear embossing powder.
Copics used:
Heart and Flowers - R46, RV21
Leaves - G21

For the dots inside the large heart, I used my Viva Decor White Ice Pearl Pen  and for the centers of the flowers I used  my Viva Decor Gold Pearl Pen.  I love these pens, you have such great control and they look just like little pearl accents when dry.  For the little dots at the base of the leaves, I used my Olive Twist Smooch ink for a bit of added shimmer.  For the sentiment, I used a portion of my Lovely Layering Collage stamp, again stamping in black and embossing with clear.   The background DP is from from Bo Bunny.  The corner pearl accents were also done with my pearl pen.  Finished size is 4.25 x 5.5 inches.

Tropical Paradise

Here is a card we made in my monthly stamping class.  We began with a circle of glossy paper stamping the Palm Cove from Stampscapes with Marvy black ink.  Yellow and orange dye ink was added with a stylus tool and then we stamped the Gulls, also from Stampscapes.  I was inspired to make this from a card I saw on Geri's blog.  The background was created with a Cheery Lynn Designs Grunge plate called Feather.  Using orange Co-oredinations paper, we embossed it then sanded it so the lighter core showed on the embossed areas.  The border is a Marianne die.  Finished size is 4.25 x 5.5 inches.

Make It Colourful Cool or Warm Challenge

We have a fabulous collection of "color-ers" on the new Make It Colourful Design Team.  Zoe, our amazing leader, has issued a challenge to make a Warm or a Cool card.  I chose to go with Cool as we are in the throes of a frosty winter.

So if you are familiar with the concept of cool colors, they range from yellow-green thru the greens, the blues and into the pale purples.  I chose this peaceful digi image from Make It Crafty called Sailing Leaf.  I sized and printed the image onto Cryogen paper with my inkjet printer.  Copics used:
Water - B0000, B000, B00, B01, B02
Leaves - G40, G21
Stems - E43
Mast - E42
I airbrushed B02 around the outside of the die cut using the super brush tip of my Copic.  This caused a wonderful splattering of color.  Next I added BV01 over the B02 only above the horizon line for a wonderful sky color.  Then I airbrushed B01 in the water area to finish it off.

I used Cheery Lynn Designs XL Scallop French Flare Nesting dies to create all the panels.  The background panel was created with my Foliage XL Embossing plate, also from Cheery Lynn Designs.  The leaves are made with Nellie Snellen punches.  I airbrushed the gems to match the sky.  Finished size is 5 5/8 inches. 

Be sure to stop by the Make It Colourful website to see all the other amazing creations from our team.  We really do have the best "color-ers" on the Web.

Online Scenic Classes at My Creative Classroom

Classes now open for enrollment at My Creative Classroom
Have you wanted to take a class from me but don't live in the Mid-Michigan area, here is your chance to take an online class.

Beginner's Scenic Stamping

Course Start Date: January 13th
Course Fee: $35
Course Length: 4 Weeks
(Students will have access to the classroom for 6 weeks)

Scenic Stamping 102

Course Start Date: February 9th
Course Length: 4 Weeks
Course Fee: $35
(Students will have access to the classroom for 6 weeks) 

Scallop Oval Love

Before I get to today's card, don't forget to check out the great $40 Blog Candy Giveaway going on at the Cheery Lynn Designs blog.  What a wonderful opportunity to get some fabulous dies and embossing plates.

One of the things I love the best about Cheery Lynn Designs XL Stackers Nesting Dies is how big they truly are.  You can use the dies for the shape of your card.  For my card today, I am using the XL Scallop Oval Stackers Nesting Dies, the next to the largest in the set, not the biggest but the next size smaller!   I began with a 5 x 7 inch folded card.  I placed it on the die so that just a small amount of scallops do not cut down the folded side of the card.  Below you can see just a bit of the die poking out along the top fold of the card. 

I embossed the card first then cut it with my Big Shot.  Here is the result, a scallop oval card base that measures 4.75" x 6.5" when folded in half....

As you can see both sides of the card have the scallop edges with just a bit of the fold left along the top.  Next I cut and embossed a red mirror card oval with my XL Petite Hearts embossing plate.  These plates are 5 7/8" x 7 1/2" inches, a wonderful large size.  Next came a smaller white scallop oval, embossed with my XL Dotted Swiss embossing plate. 

Then I added the word LOVE, die cut from red mirror card with my School Days Alphabet dies.  Then using this wonderful DP from Bo Bunny and the Poinsettia 2 die  I created the flower.  The reds really do match the mirror card, reds are so hard to photo.  Using my Bird on a Branch 2 die I added the leaf swirls.  As I said, finished size of this gorgeous card is 4.75 x 6.5 inches, perfect for a 5 x 7 envelope.

Products used:

New Brayered Class

I will be teaching this Brayering class at Scrap Tales in Brighton as well as My Craft Room in Troy, Michigan.  It should be a fun class.  Check my sidebar for class times.

Meet the new Outlines Rubber Stamp Design Team

Today is our first posting as a team at Outlines Rubber Stamp, it is really just an introduce ourselves kind of a post.  Please stop by and visit the rest of the incredibly talented team and see what they have created for you.

Bev Gerard, Jeanne Streiff, Jenny Gropp, Lisa Silver, Robin Kirkpatrick , Vicki Garrett

For my card, I started with the Outlines Zen Blossom, stamping it with Memento Tuxedo black ink onto Cryogen paper.  I used my Copic markers to color the image.   This stamp is actually made to be layered; stamping multiple times and cutting out each layer and popping them up one above the other.  But I wanted to show how beautiful it can be just as one layer.  I did pop it up on the swiss dots embossed lavender circle.  I added some White Ice Pearl Pen dots around the Marianne's die cut as well as on the corners.  I love these pens, you have such great control and they look just like little pearl accents when dry.  The background DP is from the fabulous Kaisercraft Gypsy Sister 6x6 paper pad.  Finished size is 6" square. 

Karen's Doodles Challenge 44 - All that Glitters

We have a new hostess this month at Karen's Doodles Challenge blog, Chris Sather and she has given us a theme challenge ...........  All that Glitters

I started by making a window in my card using my Cheery Lynn Designs Large Window die.   I added some lace across the top for a curtain and some striped paper to hopefully look like wallpaper.

Next I combined Karen's Doodles Skater Girl with Karen's new image called Winter Pond.  I printed the image onto Cryogen paper with my inket printer.  Copics used:
Girl - E000, E00, E01, R21
Eyes - B14
Hair - E13, E17
Coat - BG72, BG11
Skirt and Mittens - R21, R22
Snow - B0000
Trees - G21
Sky - B23 (airbrushed)
I added Sparkly Fluff to the fur trim on her outfit and the poms on her skates.  Then I added White Liquid Pearls to the snow on the trees as well as some of the ground.  I sprinkled white glitter on the wet Liquid Pearls for a lovely frosty look.  The last step was to add snowflakes in the sky and on the window using my Cheery Lynn Designs Snowflake dies.  Finished size is 6" square.

Won't you please join in on the fun at Karen's Doodles challenge blog? You could win....

1st Place - 3 Digi stamps of your choice from Karen's Doodles
2nd Place - 2 Digi stamps of your choice from Karen's Doodles
3rd Place - 1 Digi stamps of your choice from Karen's Doodles