Nate & Av - You're Special

Yes, that's right is another Magical Monday over at There's Magic In The Air! This week's FREE image is this super cute lion and mouse that are pals! The name of this image is "Nate & Av - You're Special". Just in case you are wondering the lion is Nate and the mouse is Av. Since I am the artist you might be interested to know a little interesting fact about this stamp image (soon to be series). I have an 18 year old son (well soon to be) and a 6 year old son. This image was designed with them in mind. I often look at them when they are wrestling around or messing around and I am always telling Nathan to be careful with Avery because he is so much smaller in size. I am always scared he is going to hurt him unintentionally. So, I thought how fun to make a stamp of buddies were their admiration for each other was so big, but their sizes were such the opposite. Now I bet you can figure out where their names came from too!

This card followed this lovely sketch provided by Nilla one of the Designers. So, with this sketch you could turn it, flip it or whatever, as long as you can still see the sketch in it. So, I did just that I flipped it vertically. I loved how my card turned out with the sketch; super cute. I colored my image with my Bic Mark-its and chalked my sky in yellow, pink and blue which also has a shimmer to it, but you really can't see it here. I added some buttons with floss and then I just punched out three blue holes to add the three elements on the one section. Added my sentiment on a pop up dots. Then added my ric-rac. I just LOVE ric-rac! I also drew some extra flowers on the side in the image. I always leave space for things like that in case people want to add things to the image. I am one of those people that will do stuff like that.

Can't you feel the love...

Well, that's if for Nate & Av. So, why don't you go snag the image, play along and make a card and send it to someone and let them know that they too, are Special!

Gigi on tube - paper piecing

This is the card I did to go along with the challenge over at There's Magic In The Air. The challenge was to do a paper piecing with this FREE image.

I paper pieced the umbrella, Gigi's swimsuit, her tube and her holves. I colored her body with my color pencils. I colored the dots from the image with the white Uni-ball pen, which is by far my favorite white pen. I really wanted to place my sentiment on the front, but I just couldn't place it where I felt I liked it, so I gave up and just placed it inside. The sentiment said "You're Sun Sational". I did my sky and water with chalks that have some sparkle in them, but you really can't see that in these pictures. I also placed Gigi's umbrella on pop-up dots to give it more dimension.





This is a card I did earlier in the year with this image. I colored this image with my Bic Mark-its:






















Well, that's it for Gigi, so why don't you float on over to my other blog and grab her and participate in this week's challenge!

In the mean time have a "Sun Sational" Day!

Get Inspired Challenge

I did these cards to play along with the Magical Monday challenge over at There's Magic In The Air. This week’s image was "Elvis in boots". The challenge was an inspirational challenge with color and textures. You can check it out here.

I kept my cards quite simple and concentrated more on the colors then anything. I wanted my image to stand alone and out on this card. I have a hard time keeping things simple sometimes, especially in my layouts. It's a little easier in my cards.

I colored my image with my Bic Mark-its and I used a diamond glaze on his rain boots and hat to make them more slick and also on the puddle. I thought the dotted ribbon was just wonderful with the button and thread being the perfect finishing touch.



You can see the diamond glaze better in this picture on his boots and in the puddle. The sentiment which is computer generated reads: Those who bring sunshine into the lives of others cannot keep it from themselves


Now isn't that button with the thread just too cute!

On this card, I kept it simple as well, but I copied the image in Print Shop Deluxe several times, as well as sized them down to smaller sizes and placed them that way on the original printout. I then drew more grass down the duck line and also added more water so they were in one big puddle. I then cut it out. I did this card, because if you have a program such as this you can crop the image close and place them closer together like in this card. This is one of the wonderful things about digital images. If you don't have a program Print Shop Deluxe is really not that expensive and fairly easy to use. It would really be worth the $50.00 to get it to do digital images in and your sentiments. You can find the program here you want to check it out.The letters are a bit brighter in real life but I took this picture in the evening. They were rub-ons and were actually a light blue, so I colored them red with my markers and then added black dots. Both these cards were colored with my Bic Mark-its. My youngest son Avery always tells me its a "Happy Day" and I just love that saying so I thought this looked like a Happy Day in a duck's life! I just also noticed on these pics that I did not color the eyes.. funny how you see stuff like that once uploaded, so I will go back and color them in now, but I am not taking more pics and uploading so you can pretend that they are colored! :O)





Well, that's it for Elvis, but I certainly will be using him a lot on other cards when I find time to do so!

I hope you find a puddle of joy somewhere today, so while you are looking for it.... have a Happy Day!

Cuttlebug Embossing Folders + Paper Rose = Beautiful Project

So, while visiting Curt's blog over the last few weeks I was inspired to come up with this completed project. He had posted these wonderful cards that really were fairly simple because the cuttlebug embossing folders did so much of the work. I think we all sometimes forget how truly wonderful these little folders are all by themselves. Yes, this post just emphasized just how wonderfully they stand on their own. So, first thing I thought was I would case them. Although I didn't have any of the folders he used, mainly because I wasn't sure how I would use them with other things, now I will have to buy some of them (thanks Curt). So, since I knew I wanted to make this as a gift set of cards I knew I wanted to put them in something that was more a keepsake once the cards were gone. So, I went to Hobby Lobby and bought one of those little brown paper mache type boxes. So, just like the cards I wanted the box to reflect the same kind of texture and look. So, this is what I came up with.

Below is the complete project: (double left click the picture for a much larger view)


The card stock on the box is from the Green Stack from DCWV and has little brown dots and also had those scrolls already on it. I sent the pieces through the cuttlebug to emboss and the sanded the embossing. I then added a gold metallic rub-on to the top of that to give it a more vintage look. I did that all over the box. For the lid I started off adding some ivory lace to keep with the Victorian feel and added a brown ribbon on top of that. I knew I wanted to use one of those paper roses that Helen had posted a tutorial on her blog a few months back that I had never made, but thought they were beautiful and wanted to give one a try.


I added a friendship verse that reads: If I had one gift that I could give you, my friend, it would be the ability to see yourself as others see you, because only then would you know how extremely special you are. I also added a little butterfly to the side to add some interest.



I really wanted to keep the overall box fairly simple and beautiful. I wanted the embossing, the verse and the simplicity to stand out. With the rose I added pearls to the top and coated them with a golden paint to make them match the rose and added some black crystals swirls as well. To not over due it, I left it at that.

I just loved how my rose turned out. I started with a golden yellowish orange card stock and followed the instructions on Helen's blog. I added to the edges of the hearts (see tutorial) Tim Holtz mustard seed distress ink. Then I went back and added a pink from color box right over the mustard seed. After putting the rose together, I then sprayed it with a purple glimmer mist. Then I went back once more and added a yellowish metallic rub-in to the tips of the rose petals. Once it all dried I also sprayed it with a "Deft" satin lacquer spray to seal it. I really do love how this overall project finished out.


I am such a "matchy" kind of girl, I wanted something on my envelopes to match my cards, so I decided to embossed just the flap on the envelope with the folder that matched the card. I was so pleased, an envie that matched!


The next two pictures is the set of all eight cards that will be placed in the box as a gift set!





I agree with Curt, this project is so much more beautiful in real life I wish you could see it in person. My box it much richer also in color, but I love how it turned out and I am sure I will be making these again! Thanks again Curt and Helen for the inspiration incorporated into my project!!

Thanks for stopping by and have a cheekie day!

Blog Candy Give Away

Hi everyone, meant to post the WAY before now, but my friend Nilla is giving away this great blog candy so make sure you don't miss out on a chance of it! You can find it here. Don't just stop there, make sure you check out Nilla's lovely work as well through her other posts. You will find great inspiration there as well!

Here is what she is giving away:



Lovely stuff, I wonder who the lucky winner will be? You? Me? Hurry on over you only have until August 24th!

Gate Fold Card - Beached Boat

This is the card I made to play along with the Magical Monday challenge over at There's Magic In The Air (TMITA). For more details check out the blog here. The image is free for this week only.

This is only my second gate fold card that I have made and I really liked how it turned out. I picked a soft blue for the overall feel of the card. I think the image is a very calm and peaceful and so I wanted to use it for a friend who is going through some cancer right now. I wanted to make a card I could send to him, so this is what I came up with.

This is a picture of the card all closed up.




To open the card up you turn the photo anchors to the side of the image and sentiment and then the image slides out from under the sentiment. I hope they can figure it out! I am hoping if he doesn't figure it out, his wife will.




Below is the card all opened up. I left the inside pretty simple, but lined it with a pretty pattern paper. You can see the backside of the image at the top left and the backside of the sentiment at the bottom right. That might give you an idea how it works.



I colored my image with color pencils and then I did my sky with chalks, although I did add a little more yellow to the sky with my colored pencil, but the sky is mostly chalks.

Well, that's it for my gate fold! If you have never attempted a gate fold card before you should give it a try! (there is a link on the TMITA blog on how to make one). Stop by the blog and check out what the DT and GD's did with them, they all turned out great and of course they all are soo different!

Thanks for stopping by and have a great day!

Ronan & Izzy - Summer Fun

Hi everyone! Just wanted to stop by and drop off this card. This image has not yet been released to the public. Not all my images will be free and this may very well be one of them. This cute little image is "Ronan & Izzy - Summer Fun". The cupcake actually does not come on the image, I drew it on, because I wanted to use it for a summer birthday card for my nephew. I can be overly detailed at times, but I try not to be too detailed on some of my images so everyone can add their own little extras onto the image to personalize it themselves. For instance, for extras I added dots on the tube, smaller dots on the larger dots on the ball and then the cupcake. I think this is a fun summer image of two friends having a good time in the sun! This image is also the give-a-way over at There's Magic In The Air. Anyone who participates in this weeks challenge has a chance to win it through a random drawing.





I made Ronan a little darker then I really wanted him to be and also made him a little splotchy (is that a word?) like seals can be. I colored this in the Bic Mark-its which I love, but still wish they had a much larger selection of colors. If I would have had a much lighter grey I would have used it to start out with.

OK.. off to get some things done today.... you have some summer fun and hey why not eat a cupcake too!

You Hoo..... it's "Kacey" !!!

Morning everyone! Yes, it's a Magical Monday again over at There's Magic In The Air. Below are the cards I made with the Free image "Kacey". This first card I followed the challenge over there which was a sketch. I wanted to do two complete different looks. This first one kind of soft in color, so I chose the pink with the black, which is always one of my favorite combos.



This second card I kept pretty simple, but wanted it to be way more fun in color. I really liked this pattern paper here and thought I really wanted it to do most of the work for me.... sometimes I am just that way; can you say lazy?! LOL.. but really I thought I colored the image so brightly in primary colors I thought with the paper I really did not want it to be too busy, so simple is good. I did add a few little blue flowers with rhinestones and the little red butterfly.



Now, make sure you go by "There's Magic In The Air" because this weeks give-a-way for the random drawing for participating in the challenge this week is another one of my digital images that has not been released and may never be free. So, if you want a chance on winning it, you have to participate! Did I mention it is super cute too? So go check it out. The image is full of summer fun!

So, thanks for stopping by and make sure you find the magic in today. It is everywhere; all you have to do is take notice!

It's a "Magical Monday" over at "There's Magic In The Air"

Yes! Today is the celebration kick-off to my new blog "There's Magic In The Air"!! I don't know about you, but I certainly feel the magic in the air today!! So what does that mean? That means today is the initial release of my first FREE original digi image!! As well as, showcasing the work of some very talented card makers who make up the Designer Team and Guest Designers for August. You won't want to miss out on the celebration, so head on over there and check it out, snag your free image, create a card and then link it back to my blog on Mr. Linky so we can all share in your creation as well!

So, you may be wondering what is the free image today? Well, the image is a cute little monkey with a very large cake! "Orson with cake" is the name of the image and you can view it below on my card I made using him, but don't just look at my card, there are six more wonderful creations over there. He is only available for free this week, so don't wait to get him, because he won't be free next week.

"Orson with cake"


I cut the image out and colored it with my Bic Mark-its and then used a liquid glaze on the icing and added micro beads to that. How yummy is that? Now go check out those other cards! They really are super cute!

Also, I am still giving away a large blog candy on August 27th, so make sure you check it out here for the requirements if you haven't already. So, what are you waiting on? I truly hope to see your creations linked there!


So, may today be a Magical Monday of your very own whatever you do!

Finally, some scrapping!

It's seems like forever since I have scrapped a layout and I really wanted to participate in the Challenges for July with my ET group over at scrapbook.com. I just made the deadline too!

This lo was for the technique challenge: Scrap any subject you like, but use some packaging from any product (does not have to be scrap-related) on your layout!

Twist: In honor of Independence Day in the US, use the colors red, white and blue on the layout for an extra 10 points!

My repackaging was that little black tag that says "My moments" it is a Wal-mart packaging that had little black bow ties in it. Not much, but it worked. This is a picture of Rachel and Avery many years ago after swimming and Avery was super tired and wanted his sissy. It's one of my favorite pics of them.


This next challenge was our JULY BOM CHALLENGE, which I love to participate in because it's a all about me, which I personally hate to scrap, but nice to have them after I have accomplished them! I really liked this idea; it was:

Scrap A List!!
Scrap a list of things that mean something in your life, and use pics that correspond to things on your list. Could be places you'd like to visit, your "Bucket List", a list of your favorite things, people, tv shows, etc.--whatever you like, as long as it's a list!

I personally love this statement "It's not having what you want; it's wanting what you've got" in the song by Sheryl Crow, "Soak up the sun". I think if we really lived this way we would surely see how truly we are blessed in our daily lives. So, my list are of things that I already have and feel very blessed to hold. My list was: Faith, Freedom, Love, Family, Good Friends, Good Health, Place to Call Home, My Girlfriends


Thanks for stopping by today and taking a peek if you did, leave me some luvins it always makes my day. Plus, if you haven't already done so, hurry over on my new blog "There's Magic In The Air". I will be releasing my first free digital image on Monday, August 3rd. So, scurry on over there and become a follower so you don't miss out!! I think you will love or at least like what I have a brewing over at "There's Magic In The Air"


So, in the meantime... Soak up the sun..... and rock on!

Isn't he just Beautiful!!

OK... in my crazy skeme of things today, just thought I would drop off these pics! I took these pics of this lovely guy at the ranch where we went horse back riding the last day of our vacation. He is full of vibrant color, just what I love in these birds, plus aren't they so elegant too?! Anyway... just thought I would share him, because he was beautiful!! Make sure you click on his picture and see him really big and up close as well!!







Enjoy and have a colorful day!

It's a MAGICAL MONDAY!

and there is magic in the air!! Why you might be wondering? Well, today over at my other blog "There's Magic In The Air" I am introducing my Designer Team and Guest Designers that will be showcasing my very own original one of kind Digital Stamps!! They all have a great deal of talent and I am sure you will find a wide range of inspiration from them weekly, not to mention getting some great free digi stamps!! They are limited though, so don't wait to long. There will be a new free one once a week, but if you like one that week you better grab it, because then it is gone for free. If you have no interest in a digital stamp, I say take a look, try them out and you just might be surprised! Although, if you do that and you still have no interest, stick around, because in the very near future these images and many others will soon be in a photo polymer form! Still working out all the details there, so be patient with me, this is all so foreign to me!

So, I asked all my DT and GD's 6 questions, so I too, thought I would answer them for myself so you can get to know a little more about me too!

Q1: What inspires you?

I have to say a wide range of things inspire me, color, textures (love textures), music, nature, my children, other people's work; I mean really "what does not inspire me?" LOL..

Q2: What is your favorite stamping technique? (Simple coloring, embossing, collage, inking, etc.)

I love embossing! and although you might think that digital stamping doesn't lend itself to embossing, I am sure it does. Although I have yet to make time to try it, you can certainly buy pens that will allow to to at least attempt to emboss something on a digi stamp. umm.... I really need to try this!


Q3: Do you sit or stand when you create?

Except for coloring my image, although I have found myself standing for that too at my higher table, I pretty much stand the whole time! I thought everyone stood when the scrapped or made things! LOL.. I noticed that other's were sitting when I started scrapping with friends, I kind of felt like a freak of nature, I mean, you don't stand? I guess that surprised me, but I pretty much stand the whole time, I think it is just the perspective I get when I am literally on top of my work, plus I am constantly running off to look for something, so why sit?

Q4: What is your “go-to” color combination?

Can't say I really have any "go to" colors combinations, but I love adding black to my stuff, it can make things very striking and stand out, I find that I love to add a touch of black in my fine art too. So, I guess black would be one of my go-to's

Q5: What are your favorite embellishments? (Gems, pearls, buttons, etc.)

Dang, can you have just one? I love ribbons and fibers for sure, because they add a soft texture, but I also love brads, buttons and pearls... LOL.. ok, that was not just one!

Q6: What is your favorite thing to snack on while creating?

Not sure I have a fav, but I love chocolate, mainly because I can open it, pop it in my mouth and let it melt! Something about melting chocolate in your mouth and crafting... awe... how sweet it is!

Blog Candy Give Away!!

My other blog There's Magic In The Air has just posted the below blog candies.... one big and one small... make sure you go by and check it out for the requirements!


Spellbinders Nestabilities Classic Scallope Rectangles
2 sheets - Fruits & Flowers
1 sheet - The Paper Studio Lime Green with White Poka Dots
1 sheet - The Paper Studio Lime Yellow with White Poka Dots
1 sheet - The Paper Studio Lime Green Gingham
1 sheet - The Paper Studio Lime Green Gingham
1 sheet - The Paper Studio Black Gingham
4 assorted color cardstocks: black, lime green, pink and yellow
Prima Iced Got Flowers? - Summer Fun
House Mouse Stamp - Seed Shooter (Hop it)
Stampabilities - Hand stamped with Love
Love, Elsie - Emma - rub-ons
Best Occasions - Flower Accents (flowers brads buttons)
Stickles - Aqua
K&Company - Adhesive Gems
Dress it up - Big Glitter Dots - yellow
Dress it up - Micro mini hearts flirt buttons
Hot off the press - Shaped pink gingham brads
Gelly Roll Pens - Lime Star and Pink Star
American Craft Ribbon - 5 assorted colored rolls, 4 feet each