Magical Monday - Sketch

This week over at the Paper Cupcake's Challenge Blog; There's Magic In The Air. For the month of December I am going to be hosting the challenges. This week is a sketch. I always love doing sketches, mainly because it takes a lot of the fore thought out of the work and makes it a little easier and quicker.

This is the sketch I came up with. Of course you can flip, rotate it, and/or stretch it as long as when your card is finished you can still see the initial sketch in the card. I pretty much left it the way you see it.



I used the images Penguin with Candy Cane which is a new release & Christmas Tickets by Paper Cupcakes. I used Bic Mark-its to color the image, except for the blue that I used to outline with which was a copic. Punched my snowflakes and added some Stickles. I also used all scrap paper. I thought the yellow ribbon and the yellow on his sweater was a nice pop of color.




Well, that is it for me today. Thanks for stopping by and have a great week!

Magical Monday - Vintage Card or Shabby Chic

This week over at the Paper Cupcake's Challenge Blog; There's Magic In The Air. This week Sonia Rivera brings us our challenge. She wanted to see us make either a Vintage or Shabby Chic type Christmas card. This is always one of those challenges I am not sure if I am actually hitting the nail on the head when creating, but I love the distress look and inking along with homemade flowers and lace. So... with that all said, not sure which category you would place this in, so I will let you decide!

I used two images from Paper Cupcakes, Gingerbread Boy & Gingerbread Girl. I made several of each and made a little gingerbread line. I colored them with Bic Mark-its and then inked the edges with some cat eye chalks in brown. I dry embossed the red card stock and then I gathered some lace to run along the bottom and added some brown ric-rac on top of that. I made my flower using a large 5 petal flower punch. I punched some pages out of an old daily devotional book and then inked 6 flowers total; 3 red and 3 green and then placed a brad in the middle and then just scrunched them up for the look and fullness. I really liked how it turned out and have never made a flower like this with this particular punch. Added some brown buttons and then some white ink stitches and called it... well vintage or shabby chic...LOL... but mostly I called it completed! :oD





Well, that's it for me for this challenge not sure if I hit the vintage or shabby chic, but I do like the end result of my card and that is what really matters.

We had a very nice Thanksgiving. We got to spend some time with some family and then Friday we went downtown to the monument where they light the monument up. Fifty-two strands of lights are strung vertically from the top of the Soldiers and Sailors Monument to its base, for a total of 4,784 lights. Twenty-six larger-than-life soldiers and sailors, 26 peppermint sticks, and another 90,000 lights surround the monument. Santa's workshop was the theme of the stage where they put on free entertainment and where all the festivities took place. Over 100,000 spectators were expected to attend this year's ceremony and yes, we were part of those crazy 100,000 spectators that took part in the celebration. We had a good time and the temperatures were a nice 55-60 degrees, so we couldn't beat that. We parked far enough away so parking was not a hassle when it came time to leave.

I hope everyone in the US had a lovely Thanksgiving and for those who are outside the US I wish you many blessings as well. I hope we all can find something in our lives to be thankful for!

So, make it a great week and thanks for stopping by if you either came by to lurk or to leave me a lovely little note.

Magical Monday - Birthday Challenge

This week Julie Smith brings us our challenge over at the Paper Cupcakes Challenge Blog. She would like us to make a birthday card/project; it's that easy! I used a new released image "Dogwood Cupcake" by Paper Cupcakes. It is sitting in the store right now and I will be adding 10 more new images by the end of tomorrow.

I colored my image with my colored pencils and used some of my Stickles on the cupcake icing as well on the leaves and ticket. I wish you could really see how pretty the sparkle is, but I don't think it shows up that well in the pics. The embossing folder is Tiny Bubbles by Cuttlebug. I crimped my patterned paper and layered my flowers and punched my butterflies. This was a pretty easy card to make. I just loved how it turned out. The one thing I love about digis is that you can resize your image and this cupcake is fairly large. The card is a 5x7. Yum yum, it would be deadly if you ate a cupcake that large! :o)





Well, it stopped raining for two days and the rain is back. We did get our soccer game in on Saturday and the fields weren't too bad either, but the wind was a killer. I had a nice weekend, although it was busy, but hey I am use to that. Hope you had a nice weekend as well and now I am ready to start another week!

Make sure you stop by Paper Cupcakes and check out my new images in the "new arrivals" area. I am hoping to have them all up-loaded by the end of today. There will be a total of 14 new ones. Four are sitting there right now as I had to stop and move on to something else. If they all aren't there, come back a bit later in the evening (my ETS of course) and they should all be there (I hope). If by chance they all aren't there it is because I had to take my car into the shop. I have a hole in my raditor and will need to address this asap or otherwise I have no transportation. Car repairs stink!

So, have a lovely day and leave a message or a hi if you stopped by. I always love to read them.

Magical Monday - Tag

This week over at the Paper Cupcakes Challenge blog, Dru Cabral brings us this weeks challenge. She wants us to make a tag of any kind, free range. I personally love making tags, but some people find it challenging because of the space. I made two; an Autumn one and a Christmas one.

The Autumn one I used the image "Pumpkin Cupcake" from Paper Cupcakes and colored it with my Bic-Mark-its and then added some stickles and cut it out. I embossed the background and then added the floral rub-ons added a folded paper strip and a layered flower. I added copper stickles and the folded paper, flower and the edges of the tag. Stamped my sentiment and added the coppery metallic ribbon, some soft fiber and a little leaf. Really pretty quick and easy peasy!

For my Christmas tag I used the image "Holiday Cheer" by Paper Cupcakes. I colored it with my Bic Mark-its as well. I messed her eyes up. I didn't mean to make them all black, but I started talking to Avery and ended up coloring them all black and oh well, so I attempted to fix them with my souffle pens, but now she looks a little odd, but I didn't feel like doing it all over, so it is what it is. I stamped my sentiment, I believe it was one of those you get for a dollar somewhere. I added stickles to the image and punched out my snowflakes from a glitter stack and added jewels to them. The flower, present and candy were out of an opened packet of stickers I had opened. I added pink and purple fibers and added a red bow with a snowflake on that and called it compete. I really like both my tags, well, my owls eyes I am not so pleased with, but let's just write it off as an "oops, I wasn't paying that close attention to my detail at the moment". Sorry about the top two pics being kind of gloomy and dark, but that is because I ended up retaking the pics after I fixed the eyes and it was ummm like 10:00PM and the first ones prior to fixing the eyes I took outside with the natural sunlight.

I believe we are finally passed all the flu! Thank goodness 4 weeks of that stuff is just TOO much. Although now some of this allergy/hey fever stuff has kicked in for me and Avery's asthma. Although, I must say today (Sunday) has been the best I have felt in a long time over this past 4-5 weeks. So I am hoping for a good week!

Well, I would tell you to have yourself a Merry Little Christmas if it was closer to Christmas, but it isn't, so have yourself a merry week, find some joy and count your blessings.

Magical Monday - PCC Image & No Store Bought Pattern Paper

This week's challenge over at the Paper Cupcake's Challege Blog Marie Bridgeman brings us this weeks challenge. She wants us to use a Paper Cupcake image and no store bought pattern paper. This week I decided to mess around and do something I haven't tried before as a technique. So, I thought I would attempt to antique my image. I am not so sure I liked exactly how it turned out and I think I would do it a little differently the next time, but I decided to go ahead and used what I did.

The image that I started with is called "Orchid Tea Cup with Bird" by Paper Cupcakes. After I colored the image I crinkled it all up, then smoothed it out. I then sponged on some inks, pink and then a brownish color. It kind of adhered to the crinkles in the paper. I then added the clear crackle and let that dry and then went back and sponged back over that with a little darker brown to fill in the crackles. I think if I was to do this again I would just crinkle the paper, add the crackle, let it dry then rub the ink on and over the dry crackle. So, I will try that the next time and see what I like best. I don't hate this, but not sure I am thrilled with it either.

I made my flower with lace that I just twisted and glued to a card stock circle and then added a bead to the center to finish it off. The lace you see running up and down the card is the same lace I made to use the flower. Added the rhinestones and called it complete and then headed out weekend away to the water park.

I like this card much better in real life. My image doesn't really lay flat and I liked that and so it is not adhered flat to the card, but you really can't see that here at all.



Have a Heartfelt day!

Magical Monday - PCC Image & Dog Days Of Summer

Not sure how it is for everyone across the nation, but it is certainly HOT here! How perfect the challenge fits from Paper Cupcakes this week which is brought to us by Patti Nelson and it is "Dog Days of Summer". We are suppose to be inspired by this phrase and be creative. I immediately think hot for summer weather and when it's hot I want to be in water! So, I picked this image to work with from Paper Cupcakes called "Ronan & Izzy; Summer Fun". I used my colored pencils to color the seal Ronan and the fish Izzy. Bic Mark-its to color the rest. I chalked my sky for the softness with a blue and yellow and popped my front side of the pool and ball on pop up dots, as well as the sentiment. Crimped my solid yellow piece of card stock. Added some glossy accents on the water in the pool and in the grass. My little bees were rub-on and I drew the trails behind them. Added some stickles and my ribbon.





The following cards are cards I made for some of the main challenges over at CDAC. They supply a free image that you need to use with their challenge. Heck, can't beat cute free images! Since I am taking them I kind of feel obligated to do the challenge, just a way to show some appreciation I think. After all I KNOW how much time and effort goes into one of these images, so I truly do appreciate them. Plus it is nice to be on the receiving end and I personally always love to see what people do with mine and I also love it when they leave a little post of thanks.

This first one was for Sew Many Cards which was a to use this cute image Eris and make a Christmas card. I kind of went non-traditional in color and then I made him pink! LOL.. but I think it turned out cute. Plus, all the following cards I made from my scraps, which I just love doing!



This next image was for the challenge from Shelly's Images which was a sketch challenge and of course her lovely free image. This image kind of reminded me of a vintage type image so I wanted to lean my card towards that and also masculine so I colored it with my Bic Mark-its and then rubbed some brown ink over the whole image to tone it down and give it a more vintage look. Then I went with browns, blues and black to lean it towards a masculine card.


This cute freebie was from Robyn's Fetish called "Katie Kitty" and it was a color challenge "Pink". I seen a card that opened like this somewhere, but it did not explain how to make it. So I spent some time doing my own thing, but keeping with what I had seen. So, I think this works good and I will be doing a tutorial on it within the week; (I hope) so check back because I took pictures while I made this and I also had to come up with templates so I will have that for you as well as soon as I sit down and make the time to write it all out by steps. So, check back here like I said in about a week and hopefully it will be posted in a new posting. The top picture is the card closed up and the bottom picture opened. The card stock has embossed dots, but you really can't see that. I think this one is way more cute in real life.



This is a card that is a straight lift from another card. I tend to save cards I like so I can later look back. This lift really caught my eye. I actually just drew all the doodles, but I copied what was on her card. Think the stamps are actually SU images, but like I said, I drew my own there. Than I just used my Bic Mark-its to color everything. I punched white flowers and then just doodled them as well. Thought it turned out super cute. It was a bridal shower card for my nephews bride to be. Kind of non-traditional, but I walk to a different beat sometimes and thought it was hip, cute and fun.


WOW, now that was a loooong posting. I spent one day last week making these. I certainly needed a fun day. Now this week I have a few layouts I want to get done for my group over at SB.com. So, have a great day and be inspired and inspire others!

Magical Monday - Recipe Challenge

This week's challenge over at There's Magic In the Air with Paper Cupcake Stamps is a recipe challenge brought to us by Kim McDonald. If you would like to see the recipe you can find it and the challenge blog here. I used the image "My Cup of Tea" by Paper Cupcakes. I used my Bic Mark-its to color it and well, I am pretty sure as simple as it is you can figure the rest of it out! :O) This was a really quick and simple card to make and I am positive I made it in less than an half an hour; including the coloring. I think it is cute and will make a perfect girlfriend kind of card.



Well, that's it for me for this posting. I might just get to bed before 11:00PM tonight which will be such a blessing! Well, take time to smell the coffee today and if you don't like coffee try some of the spring flowers! :O) Thanks for stopping by today! I always enjoy your company!

Non-traditional Card Challenge

The challenge over at TMITA/PCC is brought to us by Kim. She wants us to make a non-traditional card. I made a slider card. My friend Curt posted this type card on his blog recently (found here) and he found it on Heather's Blog which you can find here. She has posted the instructions and a video on how to make it. It was really very simple and my card is super cute in real life. So, I gave it a try. I did make my slits a little longer because I wanted to add my other bunnies to the second and third tier, but that was easy and I did it as I went along. I used my Bic Mark-its to color it and used all scrap paper to make my card, which I love. Added some stickles, the ribbons and the flower and called it complete.

Well, that's it for me! I would suggest you make one of these, it was a lot of fun and mine turned out really cute and like I said it was really pretty simple as well. So, hop on over there and check it out.

Free Digital Image - "Tons Of Love"

These are the cards I made with this week's Free digital image "Tons Of Love" from PAPER CUPCAKES showcased on TMITA/PCC's blog.

This first card is for the challenge over at TMITA/PCC and it was to use the "Tons Of Love" image as well as Red Ribbon, Buttons and something Glittery and/or Sparkly.

I did my card tall and thin to fit into a regular business size envelope. I colored the elephant with my colored pencils to keep her soft and used the Bic Mark-its for her skirt and hearts for a little more rich color and boldness. I love this ribbon from Wal-mart and have it in several colors. The pp is from a Christmas stack called "Magic of the Season" from Hobby Lobby. I added Red Stickles to the waist of her skirt, toenails and to the hearts. Affixed a button onto of the bow and called it complete after I stamped the word love which is a stamp by Stampabilities. I always finish the insides of my cards, but never take pictures of them. I placed a verse inside that says, "Life's most beautiful things are not seen with the eyes, but felt with the heart"




I wanted to make a softer card in color, more of a baby type card with this image so I went with some pastels. I thought it would be fun to make a blue elephant and so I did just that. The photo corners are Heidi Swapp. I used the Fiskers scalloped border punch with the holes and then tied all those cute little blue bows through each hole. I added some small white pom-poms under the image and then added some blue ric-rac on top of that as well as along the top pp edge. Added 2 yellow rhinestones at the top. I yellow stickles her her skirt (bling bling), and pink Stickles to the toenails and hearts. I wanted to add a sentiment on the top right side, but I couldn't decide what I wanted so I left it blank for the time being, as well as the insides.





Well, that's it for "Ton's Of Love" for me today. I love taking an image and seeing the different looks you can achieve with it. I had fun with these two cards that reflect just that. Thanks for stopping by today and remember it only takes a few minutes to leave some lovins! :O)

Free Digital Image - Miss Kitty

This week's FREE image over at TMITA/PCC is this cute image called "Miss Kitty". I ended up making a card to match this this cute little box in bag that I wanted to try a few weeks back, but didn't. So, I thought the pp would be so cute on this. I colored my image with my colored pencils. I also made my bigger flower that is on my card to match my pp out of just white card stock and I inked the middle and just drew on the black outline. I punched my hearts. Really, this was not a very over difficult project and was really a quickie for me, but I love how the set turned out. On my image I have a little green lines with the white, but it does not show up very well. At first my plans were to attach my "Miss Kitty" onto my box in a bag, but I printed her off a little bigger then what I thought worked well, so I just decided to make the set. I think the pp for the bag in a box works well by itself, but will probably add a cute little tag to dangle from the bow or I still might print off a smaller image and add it still. Oh, I also placed the heart and the bow on pop-up dots.





Oh I should tell you my pp is actually from the dollar store that I bought when I first started scrapping, but I think it is soo cute and wonder why I haven't used it yet... ummm.... I think I have lots of pp like that! LOL... how about you? I would challenge you to pull some of your oldest pp out and use some of it up, you might find that you just might fall back in love with it!!

Some More Cards...

Below are some other cards I made with some of my other images that you can find and purchase at Paper Cupcakes, my new digital stamp store. These images are exclusive only to Paper Cupcakes.

This first Image is called "Praise Him" and I must say this is one of my personal favorites. I actually made this image because I have a friend that plays the guitar and so I drew it so I could make her this birthday card. I colored this image with my Bic Mark-its. I loved how the blue and yellow turned out on her dress. I also took my white uni-ball pen and added some white lines on the bottom part of her dress to make it a little more dramatic with lines. I had the black ink lines, but wanted them to be a bit more apparent at first glance and truly loved how her dress turned out. I did color her guitar with colored pencils though, I wanted the look that the colored pencil gave me for her guitar, plus I feel like I have more control over the blending with my pencils and wanted a smooth overall blend with a softness. I was pleased with the overall card and must say this one is one of my favorites I have made.




This image is called "Small Orchid" and I colored it with my colored pencils. Colored pencils will always be one of my favorite mediums to color things with and I have yet to add any of the blending oils. Although I must say I have purchased some to try them out, but I just have never found myself reaching for them. I truly enjoy the blending aspect within the pencil lead itself.



The following are some more Christmas cards I made with more of my images that were not freebies and can also be found at Paper Cupcakes. I colored all of the below with my Bic-mark its as well, except the polar bear which I used a light blue colored pencil for the softness.

Image name: Polar bear Ride


Image Name: Snow girl


Image name: Gigi Christmas Shopping


Image name: Holly & Mitten Line


Image name: Christmas Spray Cupcake


Well, just wanted to post these and hope to have some more cards up soon with some other images from the store so you can see them colored up and used and hopefully get you excited about them as well as sell a little! :O)

So, thanks for stopping by and please leave me some lovins it always makes my day to read them, as I am sure it does the same for you when you get feedback as well! Have a cupcake kind of day!