Darling House Mouse Cards

Hello and welcome! Today I have a set of darling House Mouse cards to share with you.

If you follow me on Instagram, you know that I’ve been trying to keep up with #TheDailyMarker30Day coloring challenge this month. This time around I’ve tried to stretch my coloring skills, and ventured into doing some skies with Copic markers.

Previously, after finishing coloring the main image in Copics, I’ve used chalks for the sky because I would get streaks and unevenness trying to do a sky with Copic markers. I think I’m finally getting the hang of it! On this first card I was also pleased to get a bit of reflection of the walnut in the water, with a natural ripple look, too:

Love the sheen of these DCWV Shimmer Stack papers!! For the inside, I dry embossed the dye (you’ll see it better in the next cards) and used the cutout center as a decorative element:

On the second card, I added some rain to the sky. Here in Florida, it can be both rainy and sunny with a blue sky while raining, rain on one side of the street, but not the other, etc., so I didn’t feel like I needed clouds. I didn’t have a good terracotta color in my Copic collection, but I found that RV 34 and R22 mix together nicely for a close match.

Since part of the die impression reminds me of suns, I ran over the raised ‘suns’ with some yellow chalk and added this little guy celebrating, with my own sentiment:

For the final card, I decided to switch the ice cream color from pink to strawberry-flavored red to match the cardstock. The House Mouse stamps have names for most all of their critters. The bunnies are Hop-it and Itty Bit. I love that little Itty Bit fell asleep in a sugar coma before he got his face and paws cleaned off! : ) I also like that the frame die kind of reminds me of a waffle cone pattern! Since my hands were actually steady today, I took a chance on writing my own sentiment:

Here’s the inside:

        

Supplies used:

• First card (Maxwell floating in a walnut)
  • Stampendous House Mouse Pop Stamp set HM01A: POPHM01-09
  • Tonic Studios Deco Oval Trellis die set
  • DCWV The Shimmer Stack cardstock
  • Recollections white cardstock 65# and 110#
  • Tsukineko Memento Rich Cocoa dye ink
  • Copic Markers: B02, 21; BG90; C3; E00, 02, 31, 33, 37, 51; W1; Y35; YG61, 63; YR02, 04
  • Tonic Studios Nuvo Crystal Drops: Gloss Ripened Pumpkin
  • Prima Marketing Planner Glue Pen
  • Simply Defined adhesive runner and ‘Stay Put’ adhesive glue
• Second card (sitting in a flower pot in the rain)
  • Stampendous House Mouse Pop Stamp set HM01A: POPHM01-02 & 07
  • Inside: Stampendous House Mouse Pop Stamp set HM01A: POPHM01-03
  • Tonic Studios Deco Oval Trellis die set
  • DCWV The Shimmer Stack cardstock
  • Recollections white cardstock 65# and 110#
  • Tsukineko Memento Gray Flannel & Tuxedo Black dye inks
  • Copic Markers: B02, 21; BG90; C1, 3; E00, 02, 51; G24, 82; R22; RV24; YG61, 63; Y35; YR02, 04
  • Pebbles, Inc. Pearlescent Chalks – Jewel Tones
  • Sakura MicroPerm 01 Ultrafine pen
  • Tonic Studios Nuvo Crystal Drops: Gloss Red Berry
  • Prima Marketing Planner Glue Pen
  • Simply Defined adhesive runner and ‘Stay Put’ adhesive glue
• Third card (ice cream bunnies)
  • Stampendous House Mouse Ice Cream Lick
  • Tonic Studios Deco Oval Trellis die set
  • DCWV The Shimmer Stack cardstock
  • Recollections white cardstock 65# and 110#
  • Tsukineko Memento Gray Flannel & Tuxedo Black dye inks
  • Copic Markers: B21; C3; E02, 31, 33, 51; G24, 82; R24; RV02; YG17 61, 63
  • Pebbles, Inc. Pearlescent Chalks – Jewel Tones
  • Sakura MicroPerm 01 Ultrafine pen
  • Prima Marketing Planner Glue Pen
  • Simply Defined adhesive runner and ‘Stay Put’ adhesive glue

I’m entering this card in the following fun challenges… click on any of them for more information on how you can play along:

• House Mouse and Friends Monday Challenge HMFMC #284 Love/Anything Goes (I’ll enter the first card from here and the other two from Instagram)

• Simon Says Stamp Monday Challenge – Add Some Red Cards 2 & 3 (3 entered from IG)

I’m glad you stopped by! Hope to see you again soon!!

~D.Ann

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A Special Girl Feeding Her Beloved Giraffe – Baby Card

Have you recuperated from your safari yet? : ) I needed a baby card and wanted to use the darling Petite Pinafore dress die and decided to put the Wild Thing stamp on, but I added some Romaine lettuce leaves to have the girl feeding the giraffe! (If you’re wondering why, see my last post HERE to find out!) You don’t have to have hearts to know that love is in the air with this darling duo! (SSS Monday Challenge)

So darling! With The Daily Marker 30 Day Coloring Challenge going I, I thought I’d experiment with ‘no line’ coloring. The SSS Barely Beige ink I stamped in was so light I could barely see to color it! I even stamped it twice. (if you look close you can see the lines from using too much pressure under the feet… they totally disappeared in the coloring, too!)

Once I outlined each part in its corresponding color, It gave me a little more freedom and I got a more natural look with the Faber-Castell Polychromos pencils.

I added some of the cutout flowers to her shoes, then covered them in Glossy accents to give them a patent leather look.

I put the pretty white layer on the inside and left it plain for writing a message.

Supplies:

• LDRS Creative (Little Darling Rubber Stamps) Build a Card Petite Penafore die
• LDRS Creative Wild Thing and Celebrate stamp sets
  • Enabler alert: these stamps and dies are still in the clearance bin (as of 2/3/19) at an amazing price (30-90% off!) at LDRS Creative! Just sayin’! (and no, this is not a share sale link)
• Core’dinations pink and white cardstock
• Simon Says Stamp Barely Beige dye ink
• Tsukineko Memento Rose Bud dye ink
• Faber-Castell Polychromos pencils:Light Flesh; Pompeian Red, Ivory, Light Yellow Ochre, Burnt Umber, Warm Grey1; Green Gold; Cream, Gold, Permanent Green; Earth Green Yellowish; May Green; Light Cobalt Turquoise
• Ranger Inkssentials Glossy Accents
• Scotch adhesive tape runner
• Aleene’s Original Tacky Glue

I’m playing along with the following challenges – click on any one of them for more information on how you can join the fun:

• Simon Says Stamp Monday Challenge – Love Is in the Air
• Simon Says Stamp Wednesday Challenge – Anything Goes

Thanks for stopping by and for sharing your comments!

~D.Ann

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p.s. any ads on this page are placed by WordPress and are not endorsed by me.

Stamplorations Love Always Card with Salt Colored background

Hi there! Welcome back to another crafty whim! This time I’m experimenting with a ‘digi’ and watercoloring with salt. Because a printed ‘digi’ (digital image) from my printer often smears, I decided to do the background FIRST and then print on top of it. I really wanted to play with this nifty technique I’d seen on Betsy Veldman’s blog (HERE). She had a cool variation of the salt technique — where you sprinkle salt on your watercolor and let it dry for some interesting patterns. She COLORED her salt and sprinkled it around for some really cool effects! I especially liked her aqua border with flowers, so decided to try something similar. I guestimated where the orchid and lily would fall and tried to get the yellows and pinks more in those areas. Since I wasn’t going to do much until I was sure I could get similar results, I colored up 1/4-1/2 tsp of coarse salt.

The handiest colors I had on hand were distress inks and spray stains. It only took 2 drops of the ink, but about 6 of the spray stain to color up the salt. I didn’t have a purple, so mixed Mermaid Lagoon with Abandoned Coral until I got the color I wanted. By the time I sprinkled my salt down, the paper was dryer than I’d’ve liked, so I gently spritzed a bit of water across the top. Let dry and brushed off the salt:

Sherry Russ at Stamplorations kindly made available these lovely free digis over on their blog (HERE):

You know I rarely use digis, but I decided to give this lovely one a whirl. First, I had to size the digi. Another reminder of why I prefer stamps. Sure you can resize digis easier, but getting them exactly right is a bit of trial and error (for ME, at least!)

Not bad, but I thought it could use a little more. When Betsy was done with the salt, she went back and added some more watercolor. I was afraid to re-wet the surface as these were distress inks and would react with the water, so I chose to use some Copic markers to make the leaves and a few details stand out, then added a bit of sparkle…

In the end, it turned out nifty, but not near as cool as Betsy’s projects. Some day I will have to come back and revisit this, experimenting with different watercolors and inks.

Supplies used:

• Stamplorations framed Love Always digi (Free HERE)
• Ranger Tim Holtz Distress Watercolor cardstock
• Yasutomo Metallic Watercolors
• Ranger Tim Holtz Distress Ink – fossilized amber
• Ranger Tim Holtz Distress Spray Stain – abandoned coral & mermaid lagoon
• Costco Kirkland Mediterranean Sea Salt
• Copic markers: C3; G24, 82; RV17; V6; YG17, 61; YR2, 4
• Spectrum Noir by Crafter’s Companion Sparkle pen – clear
• Scotch adhesive runner
• Core’dinations Parisian Nights card base

I’m playing along with the following challenges – click on any one of them for more information on how you can join the fun:

• Stamplorations – Hey, Love linky party
• Betsy Veldman’s Watercolor + Salt Technique Linky
• Simon Says Stamp Monday Challenge – Love Is in the Air
• Simon Says Stamp Wednesday Challenge – Anything Goes
• Stamplorations Never-ending Anything Goes Challenge

Thanks for stopping by and for sharing your comments!

~D.Ann

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p.s. any ads on this page are placed by WordPress and are not endorsed by me.

 

 

DIY Stamped Floral Blouse with Altenew Stamps and Brutus Monroe Ink

Hello, crafty friends! I have a fun stamping project to show you today, but not stamping on paper. I decided to try something NEW. I found a sweet, plain poly-cotton lace top and wanted to gussy it up for my mom. So I pulled out my Altenew floral stamps and looked at their January 2019 Inspiration  Challenge for, well, inspiration as to where to start with colors:

Those colors are right up mom’s alley, so I gathered up the Altenew stamp sets I thought would work (four of which were brand NEW! (New AletNEW for the SSS Mon. & Weds. Something NEW challenges! LoL!)) and started laying out the stamps to get a idea of how I wanted to place them, and decided a cascade from the right shoulder down to the left waist would look nice…

 

I placed a thick rubber stamping pad inside the shirt to protect the backside from any bleed-though (there wasn’t any) and to help get a good impression from the stamps. I used the top of the MISTI stamping tool to pick up as many of the stamps as I could and moved the others away. Then loaded up the stamps with ink, flipped the lid the opposite way from usual and held my breath…

This was my first time using the NEW Brutus Monroe Surface Inks that I had purchased for this project and a couple of other ideas I have in my pile of whims. They’re supposed to be permanent once heat set. I sure hope so!!!

The impressions were light, but there. As the fabric stuck to the stamps and lifted, I was afraid to re-stamp them and have them slightly off.

I continued until I had the design I wanted complete…

Now the hard part… I used paint brushes and picked up the ink off the inkpads to paint the flowers. Painting on cloth with ink is VERY different than painting on paper! Some results I was quite pleased with the depth I was able to achieve…

Others, turned out a hot mess…

Fortunately, I was able to stamp over it with a darker color and got a more natural look…

At this point, I ironed the entire piece. First I used paper towels to protect from bleeding, but nothing came off, so I took them off and ironed again. I’ll come back and edit this post if mom has any trouble with the ink bleeding when she washes it.

To jazz up the butterfly and hummingbird, I put down some Fabri-tac fabric glue and covered it with crystal glitter that picks up the colors beneath…

I really didn’t feel like masking when I stamped them out and that left too much white space. I had thought to use rhinestones, but they were too heavy. Instead, I used the smallest of the halftone circles to fill in between the flowers. From a distance it just looks like part of the greenery.

Supplies:

• Altenew stamp sets: Adore You*; Beautiful Day; Bejeweled; Camelia Build-a-Flower*; Dahlia Blossoms*; Halftone Circles; Lotus; Peony Bouquet & Wishing You* (all sets with an asterisk are NEW)
• Brutus Monroe Surface Inks: Cabbage, Jack-o-Lantern, Jurassic, Lapis, Marsalla, Oz, Rouge, Terracotta, Sage, Sea, Speckled Egg, Stargazer, Wagon and Zest
• Beacon Fabri-Tac fabric glue
• Stampendous Fran-tage Crystal Micro Glitter

I am playing along with the following challenges – click on any one for more information on how you can join the fun!

• Altenew January 2019 Inspiration Challenge
• Simon Says Stamp Monday Challenge – Use Something New (stamping on fabric, 4 AlteNEW stamp sets (see supply list: and Brutus Monroe Inks)
• Simon Says Stamp Wednesday Challenge – Something New (stamping on fabric, 4 AlteNEW stamp sets (see supply list: and Brutus Monroe Inks)

Thanks for joining me today. I hope you like this project as much as my mom did!! (But, then, she’d’ve liked it just plain, too… After all, she’s my mom! lol!) Have a lovely, crafty day!

~D.Ann

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9/12/19 Thank you , Altenew for featuring me on your Instagram post: Caught by Altenew (HERE)!

Wishing You Oceans of Joy

Hello, sweet peeps! I know this has been a nearly unprecedented streak of posting, but I’m almost caught up with the backlog, and then we’ll get back to my ‘whenever the whim hits’ pattern. : )

Today I have a fun card — it’d be great for a BFF’s engagement party, don’t you think?!

All the stamps and dies I used to make this were new to me and I love how they go together! Remember back when I played with Pebeo Fantasy paints for the first time back in THIS post? (good grief, it’s been almost a year! I told you I was backlogged!! At that time I also tried some on paper thinking they’d be cool for a mermaid’s tail. I was right! This was the result:

I outlined it first with Pebeo Vitrail Glitter Medium and let it dry, then filled it with the Pebeo Prisme paints which hold their own and don’t mix into brown as green and purple normally would. As they dry, they for these fabulous cell ‘scales’!

Embossing the lines of the clam shell and puffing up the pillow with a stylus, like the Heartfelt Creations Flower Shaping Essentials tool, helps give it dimension!:

Here’s a close-up of that cute little seahorse:

Now that I know the Pebeo Prisme paints work so well, I need to make a whole set of mermaid cards!

Materials used:

• Make it Crafty: Cordelia the Mermaid and Clam Shell
• Create a Smile: Under the Sea
• Hero Arts Color Layering Seahorse stamp set
• Simply Defined Time & Tides Coral Reef die
• Pebeo Prisme Pearl Violine and Emerald & Vitrail Glitter Medium.
• Copic Markers
  • shell: R20,22; Y000, 13; V12
  • hair: E13; YR02, 21, 24, Y28
  • eyes: G02; BG13; V06
  • skin: E00, 02, 11
  • E02, 04; y13, R22
• Faber-Castell Texture Gems, Gold, Pearl
• Kuretake Zig Wink of Stella clear
• Tonic Studios Nuvo Crystal Drops: Buttermilk, Crushed Grape, Mornig Dew, Raspberry Pink, Ripened Pumpkin, Sugared Almond
• Tsukineko Memento dye inks:Tuxedo Black, Sweet Plum
• Tsukineko Brilliance Pigment inks: Pearlescent Poppy & Rocket Red Gold
• Ranger Tim Holtz Distress Oxides: Abandoned Coral, Fired Brick, Fossilized Amber, Peacock Feathers, Peeled PaintSeedless Preserves, Salty Ocean, Spiced Marmalade, Twisted Citron, and Wild Honey
• Core’dinations Cardstock: Blue, Teal, Light Blue, Pink, White
• Misc adhesives, shells and pearls

I am playing along with the following challenges – click on any one for more information on how you can join the fun!

• Simon Says Stamp Monday Challenge – Party Time (engagement)
• Simon Says Stamp Wednesday Challenge – Something New (new dies, stamps and Pebeo paints)
• Simon Says Stamp Work It Wednesday December 2018 Try Something New (new dies, stamps and Pebeo paints)

~D.Ann

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p.s. any ads on this page are placed by WordPress and are not endorsed by me.

Neat & Tangled USPS Gift Wrap Ensemble

Good evening! I’m about tuckered out, but I want to get this post out, for the Neat & Tangled Throwdown challenge that is about to close, so here we go…

I really wanted to do something nice for my USPS postal carrier this year as she always trudges up to my apartment when there are packages rather than just leave them down at the mailboxes. She even asked about them one day as she saw they were art related and her teenage daughter is getting into arts & crafts. I know thy’re going to have a party when they get this as they LOVE chocolates!

I have been wanting to use the Neat & Tangled Truck die (thanks Miriam!!) but life has been so hectic, this was my first chance to pull it out. It’s darling and easy to put together the main truck. All the optional add-ons – especially those blinker lights – are a bit tiny for my big mits, tho. : ) I also wanted to wrap up a box of Ferrero Rocher chocolates extra elegantly. I’ve never used a die cut to wrap something before, but I thought the Neat & Tangled Doily Envelope die would make a gorgeous way to wrap it up… I was right! Check out the gift ensemble:

The card is a shaker. I framed it up with the edges of the Doily Envelope Die to tie the ensemble all together.

The envelope is lined with the same embossed wrapping paper as I used to wrap the chocolates. The truck opens up and holds tiny presents… in this case, a single Ferrero Rocher Chocolate! (hmm… now that I look at it, I think I’ll add some tissue paper in there to cushion it.)

It was a fun set to make I know she’s going to get a kick out of it! I can’t wait to make more of those adorable trucks – probably in UPS brown next time!!

Supplies:

• Neat & Tangled Truck and Doily Envelope dies & Sweet Treats sentiments stamps
• DCWV glitter card and chalkboard stack (black and gray sheets)
• Core’dinations cardstock: white & black
• Brother Sister Design Studio Embossed Foil Gift Wrap (wrapped chocolates and envelope liner)
• Tsukineko Memento Tuxedo Black dye ink
• Tombow Dual Brush Pens 565 &845
• Sakura Gelly Roll pen – White 10
• Ranger Inkssentials Glossy Accents (windows & headlights)
• Blank Slate by Traditions open heart confetti (shaker)
• Laura’s Loft Red Hot Love sequins (shaker)
• Queen & Co Diamonds toppings (shaker)
• Sookwang Scor-Tape
• Simply Defined “Stay Put” adhesive and Simply Dimensional Foam Adhesive Sheets
• Misc. glitter cardstock in red and orange; acetate; printed usps logo
• Ferrero Rocher chocolates – both for the recipient and the crafter!! : )

I am playing along with the following challenges – click on any one for more information on how you can join the fun!

• Neat & Tangled Throwdown – Gift Wrap Ensemble Challenge
• Simon Says Stamp Monday Challenge – Party Time (Chocolates – need I say more?!! LOL!)
• Simon Says Stamp Wednesday Challenge – Anything Goes
• Simon Says Stamp Work It Wednesday December 2018 Try Something New (new dies, using die for giftwrap & 3d truck)
• CropStop December Linky Party #46 Anything Goes (Core’dinations, Ranger, Sookwang, Tombow, Tsukineko)

Ok, I’m off for a very late supper. Y’all have a lovely weekend!

~D.Ann

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p.s. any ads on this page are placed by WordPress and are not endorsed by me.

Hello My Favorite Nuts Acorn Shaker with Gift Card

Hello, again! I’m glad you’ve returned! Today’s card is a shaker with a surprise:

Those of you who follow me, may recall THIS card with a similar concealed surprise. I just love that the Spellbinders Die-of-the-Month acorn can be turned into a gift card holder for these fun acorn-shaped gift cards from that coffee shop that ends in BUCK$!

And the Queen & Company Happy Harvest Fall Kit has those fab acorn shakers to match. This time the shaker is filled with fabulous mini ‘gems.’ Observation: The gorgeous glitter paper in that kit is made so well that the glitter won’t rub off, but that also means it’s not really the best for intricate dies, like the Hello Fall insert of this acorn die. It simply doesn’t want to cut clear through. I recommend using it for non-intricate cutting. The leaf also gets added dimension when you score the veins. The acorns get some realistic color with a dauber and some Distress inks.

What else is behind that acorn?….

This darling family! I love that the two squirrels/chipmunks in the acorn are hugging, with coffee in hand… something that has led to many a spill in this family! And the mugs have kitty paw prints on them and a stuffed kitty is lying on the floor… another signature of our family. The sentiment: ‘You are my favorite nuts’ – ever so apropos! By cutting them out of separate cardstock, I was able to color them with Copics and not have them bleed through to the back of the card. It also allowed me to fussy cut around the arms and put them through the cup handles.

By the way… didja notice that acorns, just like humans, come in all varieties?! : )

Materials used:

• Spellbinders Small Die of the Month – October 2018
• Queen & Co.  Happy Harvest Fall Kit (dies, foam, clear plastic, paper, glitter paper and beads)
• Neat & Tangled My Favorite Nut stamps & dies; Puppy’s Favorite Things stamps
• Core’dinations cardstock: white, brown, kraft, yellow
• Recollections card base
• Tsukineko Memento Desert Sand dye ink
• Ranger Tim Holtz Distress Inks: Spiced Marmalade, Rusty Hinge, Barn Door, Vintage Photo and Walnut Stain
• Copic Markers: E13, 23, 25, 29, 31, 55, 71;Y38; YR02, 04, 07, 24; W1
• Simply Defined Permanent adhesive runner & Stay-Put adhesive glue
• Misc. ribbon and Starbucks gift card

I am playing along with the following hops and challenges. Be sure to click on them for more information on how you can play along and enter for prizes:

• 2018 Fall/Winter Coffee Lovers Hop

• Simon Says Stamp Monday Challenge: B is for ? Beads & StarBUCK$ (lol!) Behind the acorn.
• Simon Says Stamp Wednesday Challenge: Wrap it Up Beads wrapped in an acorn shaker and gift card wrapped in acorn.
• CropStop December Linky Party #46 Anything Goes (Core’dinations, Ranger,  Spellbinders & Tsukineko)

I’m so glad you stopped by! I enjoy reading your encouraging messages and greatly appreciate them!

~D.Ann

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p.s. any ads on this page are placed by WordPress and are not endorsed by me.

Hello Pumpkin Spice Season Zen Cup and Shaker Card

Hello crafty peeps and Hello Pumpkin Spice Season! Ahhh…. PSL (Pumpkin Spice Lattes)… my favorite treat of the year! So much so, that I got a great Black Friday deal on a coffee maker and a bunch of decaf pumpkin spice pods so I can have it year round without having to pay mega BUCK$ at that place that ends in ‘BUCKS’ (in just 6 cups I will have recuperated my investment). But we’re not here to talk economics. The Fall/Winter Coffee Lovers Hop continues…

I received a Happy Harvest Fall Kit from Queen & Company (THANKS!). It includes the stamps, dies, and pre-cut adhesive foam and clear shaker covers, fall papers and cook shaker beads and gems:

I did a little bit of surgery to the stamps with a scissors to get the sentiment I wanted, added the fabulous Zen cup from Stamplorations and a card base and, violá:

To get the dimension on the pumpkins, I added some score lines and then hit them with a bit of darker ink on my finger (too lazy to go get a dauber. lol!). The unused inner piece of adhesive foam was perfect to cut up and use for popping up the sentiment. (I’m thinking I should have popped up the cup, too. 20/20 hindsight!) I ran yellow and orange markers along the edges of the foam that would show so they weren’t stark white.

There is something satisfying about hearing a shaker… It must take us back to our childhood and the comforting sound of a rattle

Supplies used:

• Queen & Company Happy Harvest Fall Kit (stamps, dies, foam, clear plastic, papers and beads)
• Stamplorations Zen Coffee Cup Layering Dies – CUTplorations
• DCWV card base
• Tsukineko Memento Potter’s Clay dye ink
• Core’dinations orange cardstock
• Tombow Xtreme adhesive runner
• Simply Defined ‘Stay Put’ adhesive glue
• Misc yellow and orange pens

I am playing along with the following hops and challenges. Be sure to click on them for more information on how you can play along and enter for prizes:

• 2018 Fall/Winter Coffee Lovers Hop
• Simon Says Stamp Monday Challenge: B is for ? Beads
• Simon Says Stamp Wednesday Challenge: Wrap it Up Beads wrapped in a pumpkin shaker

Thank you so much for stopping by and for your encouraging comments! I read and appreciate them all!! Happy hopping!

~D.Ann

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p.s. any ads on this page are placed by WordPress and are not endorsed by me.

 

Coffee Lovers: Thanks a Pool-Sized Latte! Card

Have you ever wondered what it’d be like to wake up one winter morning to have the ground covered in snow and your pool full of hot coffee with cute little foam animals floating all over? ‘Dive in!’ you say?! The current Simon Says Stamp Monday Challenge: B is for ? = Big, Bodacious Blue pool full of coffee with foam Bears (and cats)!! That’s where my crazy imagination took me for today’s Coffee Lovers Hop card:

The hand drawn and fussy-cut pool of ‘coffee’ has a liquid look due to glossy accents:

The inside of the card and the back of the envelope continue the theme:

The ‘Thanks a pool-sized latte!’ sentiment was done on the computer. To get the soft singed edges on the foam critters, I used Polychromos pencils and Gamsol.

Supplies:

• Hero Arts Foam Animals stamp set
• Tsukineko Memento Desert Sand dye ink
• Faber-Castell Polychromos colored pencils:Cobalt Green; Light Cobalt Turquoise; Caput Mortuum Violet; Burnt Sienna; Raw Umber
• Gamblin Artists Gamsol & Q-tips
• Marvy Le Plume !! pen #1122
• Ranger Inkssentials Glossy Accents
• Core’dinations 65# cardstock: white, brown, blue
• Recollections 110# cardstock (base)
• Tombow Xtreme adhesive runner

I am playing along with the following hops and challenges. Be sure to click on them for more information on how you can play along and enter for prizes:

• 2018 Fall/Winter Coffee Lovers Hop

• Simon Says Stamp Monday Challenge: B is for ?
• Simon Says Stamp Wednesday Challenge: Anything Goes
• CropStop December Linky Party #46 Anything Goes (Core’dinations, Ranger, Tombow & Tsukineko)

Thank you so much for stopping by and for your encouraging comments! I read and appreciate them all!! Happy hopping!

~D.Ann

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p.s. any ads on this page are placed by WordPress and are not endorsed by me.

Ice Cream Solves Everything Kitty Cone Cards and Key Chains with Newton’s Nook Designs

Hello, there! I’m so glad you could stop by as I have some cool summer fun to share with you today! Go grab some ice cream, this is a long one. Just sayin’!  For some reason I couldn’t get my brain to work on saying things succinctly. (Plus there are 4 cards this time.) So I won’t be offended if you just take a quick scroll through the pics. : )

First let me start with a story. A long time ago our family developed a code word for ice-cream. It seems someone in the family was always getting flowers when they were sick or needed cheering up and one day they finally admitted… ‘I sure would be cheered up a lot more if it was ICE CREAM instead of flowers!’ So, from then on whenever this person was sick we’d ask, ‘would FLOWERS cheer you up?’ and if they said ‘yes’, they got ice cream. Now the whole family uses FLOWERS as code for ICE CREAM. It really does make us feel better! Of course if you get BOTH… that’s just a win-win! : ) When I saw this ‘Ice Cream solves Everything’ sentiment I KNEW I had to make up a card for you-know-who! Who knows, maybe it’ll catch on and some day Mirriam-Webster will have a footnote under ‘flowers’ that says “n. – slang for ice cream in the early 21st century’ Hahahaha!

Of course now that I’ve told the story I see that I should have made a sliding sentiment that said FLOWERS solve everything on top and pulls out to say ICE CREAM! Per usual, I have 20/20 hindsight!! Next time!

The card was based on a sketch from the Inky Paws Challenge #77: 

Too bad I finished the card the day AFTER that challenge closed = I needed ice cream to ease the disappointment! Just look at these two darling kitties sharing a yummy ice cream cone!

(card #1 above) I have always wanted to do one of these backgrounds where part is colored and part is b&w, so decided to try that. I find it daunting to try to randomly stamp a background, but I tried a couple on regular paper until I got one that I liked and put it in the MISTI and laid my stamp on top of each place I’d stamped, picked it up and restamped it. I was able to crank out 4 copies in relatively quick time.

I didn’t want to cover up too much of the background, so, to make the kitties licking their ice cram cone stand out, I cut out some black paper just a bit larger than they are and put it behind them (I had already put the foam underneath them to pop them up, so the black shadow is down on the card base, making it ever more shadow-y.) Glossy Accents and Liquid pearls help the ice cream look more realistic.

Since the current Monday Challenge at Simon Says Stamp is Sprinkles & Splatters,  I really wanted the sprinkles to pop, so added Nuvo Drops to them and to the kitty noses, tongues (love those cute little lapping tongues!!) and paws. To get Mrs. Calico Kitty’s tail in reverse, I just traced the back side of the stamped image on a light box.

Making the kitty cone: I was in JoAnn Fabrics when they had their 75% off sale and found these cute beads… I thought looked like kittens (they say they’re mice so I added a more kitty-like nose and mouth with a Sakura Identi pen, which stayed on the ceramic (whereas the Sakura Pigma Micron whisker extensions I’d done wiped off the next day), and some pink to the inner ears with a Copic) They reminded me of the kitty cones on my card, so I went looking for something that would look like a waffle cone. I found a Utility Cotton Fabric called, amazingly, Waffle Weave! I drew a semi-circle on a piece of tagboard from a cereal box and cut it out, then cut the fabric slightly larger, and then glued it to the tagboard, folding the edged over and gluing them to the back side. Then I curled it into a cone and glued it together. Once dry, I colored in the debossed waffle squares with a Copic marker. Using a headpin, I made a loop at the top of the kitty and hot glued it in place and hot glued the kitty snuggled inside the ‘waffle cone’. I added some pearlescent seed beads to make the kitty cones hang lower than keys and added a couple of pawprint charms and they were good to go.

I recently told my friend that I remembered after my first day of school, mom would always take me to DQ and that gave me something to look forward to all day… Yep, ice cream solves the tedium of that interminable long first day of school! So I decided to make another card and keychain for my friend’s daughter for her first day of school this week. They had ice cream cones after her first day of school, too! A great tradition has started!! That fits perfectly with the Simon Says Stamp Wednesday Challenge for this week: Back to School.

Back to School is also the theme for the current MarkerPoP! Challenge #138  This time I used fancier beads on her keychain and another I made for someone else:

Aren’t those kitty cones just darling? I love that they match the stamps!!

The CURRENT Inky Paws Challenge (#78) is Summer/Beach.  

Since I had more backgrounds with my summer ice cream, I kept on doing cards with that same layout from the previous Inky Paws Challenge. As I’d used the new Finesse alcohol-proof dye ink by Spectrum Noir to stamp the backgrounds, I wanted to try using alcohol inks on them and decided to try Spectrum Noir basics and Copics. FYI, they both worked fine and the Finesse ink didn’t bleed at all.

The Spectrum Noir sheet was a bit darker than I wanted, so I decided to use vellum over most of it. To take a break from coloring, I left this kitty white.

(Card #2 above) Can’t quite place that tag die? I wanted a nice fishtail tag, but the only one I had (Spellbinders Decorative Swallowtail Tags) was too tall, so I snipped it down and ended up with a leftover decorative accent for another project…

For the Copic background, I die cut it and an uncolored sheet together at the same time so they’d be cut exactly the same and made two cards with the partially colored technique…

(Card #4 & 3 above) These will make nice little gift sets!

On the inside and backs of each card, I used a light ink nearly matching the cardstock for a watermark stamp. It’s so light the camera can barely pick it up, but it can be seen IRL. That said, I will admit that the first one I got so enthusiastic in writing that I wrote over the stamped image forgetting it was there, so it is VERY light. lol! I think next time I’ll do it a smidge darker! The inside has a kitty with a giant 4 scoop cone and says “You make life sweet!” I hesitated to show you this but now it’s a funny story so here we go…

Yeah, I don’t blame you if you can’t see it! The back has two kitty cones and says: “This card was handmade by” leaving room for my signature logo. (I really need to get that made into a stamp some day!)

I saved the best for last… I’m hoping my coloring on this pair reminds you of two famous kitties… can you guess their names?!

Hint: >^.^< N—–   and >^.^< H—– (btw: I love how the light hits that cone making a white streak… Note to self: next time draw in a white line just like that!)

Supplies – Cards:

• Newton’s Nook Design Cat Treats & Newton’s Summer Treats stamp sets
• Spellbinders Card Creator A2 Matting Basics A dies (first card)
• Spellbinders Decorative Swallowtail Tags (second and third cards)
• Simon Says Stamp Stitched Rectangles (third and fourth cards
• My Sentiments Exactly Back of Card Set
• Spectrum Noir Finesse Alcohol Ink Proof Dye Ink – Flagstone
• Spectrum Noir Aqua Blend Pencils (first card only): Agean Blue, Anthracite, Asphalt, Beeswax, Black Umber, Cantaloupe, Chrome Orange, Fossil Grey, Honeycomb, Hyacinth. Persimmon, Petunia, Plum Red, Primrose, Sky Blue, Sorrel, Tobacco, and Watermelon
• Tonic Studios Nuvo Crystal Drops – Gloss: Crushed Grape, Ebony Black, Ripened Pumpkin (first card only)
• Tonic Studios Nuvo Glow in the Dark Drops – Neon: Apple Sour, Banana Split, Shocking Pink (first card only)
• Spectrum Noir Basics (second card only): Blush, Bright Orange, Canary, Cerulean, Emerald, Hydrangea, Ivory, Muted Brown, Natural Brown, Red
• Copic Markers (fourth card only): B02, 24; C5, 7;  E00, 11, 23, 25, 74; G05; R29; RV02, 20; V15; Y13; YR07
• Tsukineko Versarmark Ink
• Stampendous Beach Set: Sky Embossing Powder (all except third card)
• Inkadinkado black embossing powder (third card only)
• Ranger Inkssentials Glossy Accents
• Ranger Liquid Pearls – Dark Chocolate
• Core’dinations cardstock: Black, Blue & White
• Scotch adhesive roller
• Aleene’s Original Tacky Glue
• Misc. foam adhesive squares (first card); sequins & vellum (second card)

Supplies – Keychains:

• Darice Ceramic Mice (JoAnn)
• Joann Fabrics Utility Cotton Fabric: Waffle Weave
• The Jewelry Shoppe Ball Point Headpins
• Beadalon Satin Silver 7 Strand Stringing Wire & #2 crimp beads
• Misc. iridescent seed beads (first two)
• Various beads, including: Millifiore glass beads, Czech glass cathedral beads , Seabreeze glass donuts, and Hematite rondelles…
• Copic Markers: E31 & RV34
• Sakura Identi pen – red
• Aleene’s Original Tacky Glue
• Hot glue gun
• Misc. Cereal Box tagboard

I’m playing along with the following challenges – click on any one of them for more information on how you can join the fun:

• Newton’s Nook Designs Inky Paws Challenge #78 – Summer/Beach Theme
• Simon Says Stamp Monday Challenge: Sprinkles & Splatters
• Simon Says Stamp Wednesday Challenge: Back to School
• CropStop Linky July Party #42: Anything Goes (Aleene’s Core’dinations, Ranger, Scotch, Spectrum Noir, Spellbinders, Tombow, Tonic & Tsukineko)
• MarkerPoP! Challenge #238 Back to School

Thanks again for the kind comments you guys always leave… it’s always a tread to read them!

~D.Ann

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p.p.s Owning yet another oops… the back of one card managed to get into some of that Liquid Pearls Chocolate and Glossy Accents splattered and smeared across it. I just added a note around the stains: “It wouldn’t be realistic without a little chocolate stain and cat spit, would it?!!” : )