Celebrate with Miller!

Hi folks,

Just thought I would pop in and share the card I made for dearly beloved's eldest nephew.

card details:

• finished size: 6 x 6 inches
• patterned paper & embellishments: CTMH "Urban" Paper Pack and Assortment
• image: Simply Betty Stamps "Miller" (mine is the rubber version, not digi) coloured with Copic Markers (E000, E00. E01, E11, E21, E23, E25, B91, B93, B95, Y15, Y17, Y19, BG09, N5)
• sentiment: CTMH "Celebrate" (M1125) stamped in CTMH Peacock Ink
• die cut: Verve Pennant Trim
• layout: Sketch Saturday #389

challenges for this card:

• Seize the Birthday: Anything Goes Birthday
• Craft your Passion #290: Anything Goes

As always, thanks for stopping by!

Perfect Curls

Hi folks,

Just thought I would pop in this morning and share a birthday card I created for my sister.

card details:

• finished size: 5.5 x 5.5 inches, kraft card stock base
• patterned paper: CTMH "Sangria"
• sentiment: CTMH "Birthday Calligraphy" (M1124)
• embellishments: CTMH Sangria Assortment
• stamped image: Simply Betty Stamps "Perfect Curls", coloured with Copic Markers (E000, E11, E01, E00, E21, E93, E04, E23, E29, E24, E27, E87, R37, R39, R35, RV69, V05)
• layout: Sketch Saturday #383

Challenges for this card:

• Seize the Birthday: Anything Goes Birthday
• Cute Card Thursday #396: Anything Goes

As always, thanks for stopping by!

Pamper Yourself

Hi folks,

Today I'm sharing the card I made for my younger sister for her birthday. It's the first chance I've had to ink up one of the images in the Betty's Boudoir collection from Simply Betty Stamps.

card details:

• finished size: 5.5 x 5.5 inches, black card stock base
• patterned paper: Carta Bella "Paris Girl" (they were part of the bundle that came with the rubber stamp collection)
• stamped image: Simply Betty Stamps Betty's Boudoir (the link is to the digis but I actually have the limited edition rubber stamps) - Bubble Bath Betty with the sentiment from the Powder Puff Betty. Coloured with Copic Markers (E000, E00, E01, E11, E93, E35, E04, E13, E15, E70, E31. E35, E37, E39, E25, C3, C5, Y35, R81, R00, R20, R85, R83)
• adhesive gems from my stash
• Spellbinders Petite Ovals

Challenges for this card:

• Love to Scrap #39: Anything goes

As always, thanks for stopping by!

Another Snow Queen

Hi folks,

just a quick post today as I wait to catch the bus down town. I'm on course this week and it is simply easier to take the bus than it is to drive and find a place to park. Of course, it just so happens that it is frakkin' cold here in Ottawa this week - it's not quite 7am as I write this and it is only -27°C outside (that's -16°F for those that follow the Fahrenheit scale). Makes standing at the bus stop rather bone chilling!

I figure since it is so darn cold, it is only fitting that I share another card using Elsa the Snow Queen from Simply Betty Stamps.

card details:

• finished size: 4.25 x 5.5 inches, kraft card stock base, white card stock mat
• patterned papers: My Mind's Eye Lost & Found "Oliver"
• digital image: Simply Betty Stamps "Elsa the Snow Queen", coloured with Copic Markers (E000, E00, E01, E93, E04, B91, B93, B99, E50, E51, E53, Y28, Y26, Y23, Y32) with a little shimmer added with my clear star gelly roll pen.
• sentiment: Verve
• Spellbinders Petite Ovals
• wooden snowflake die cuts and a gem from my stash
• layout: Sketch Saturday 288 (I flipped the sketch)

additional challenges for this card:

• Through the Craft Room Door: Anything Goes
• One Crazy Stamper: December Winter/holiday Challenge

As always, thanks for stopping by!

Sister Act Card Challenge #37

Hi Everybody!!!!

It's Friday so that means I am sharing with you my "anything goes" card for the Sister Act Card Challenge!

As you probably know by now, the rules for joining in our weekly challenge are pretty simple - anything goes as long as it is a new card of your own creation! Just join in the fun by linking up to your blog post featuring your lovely creation and you will be in the running for the prize offered by this week's sponsor!

Oh and I mustn't forget to mention our fabulous sponsor this week - it is Stamp And Create

a fantastic online retailer of all the things you need to get crafty - stop on by and check out their
fabulous collection of papers, stamps, embellishments - you name it!!!

So, for today's challenge, I'm featuring another Christmas card - 'tis the season after all!

What do you think of my choice of non-traditional colours? I quite like it myself. I hope my sister likes it as this is going to be her Christmas card this year.

Now, be sure to link up YOUR creations this week so the Sister Act DT can check them out! I can't wait to see what you create!

card details:

• finished size: 5.5 x 5.5 inches, kraft card stock base
• patterned papers: My Mind's Eye Lost & Found 3 "Oliver" 
• digital image: Simply Betty Stamps "Elsa the Snow Queen" (she was a limited time freebie for the members of the Facebook Fan Group), coloured with Copic Markers (E000, E00, E01, E93, E04, B91, B93, B99, E50, E51, E53, Y28, Y26, Y23, Y32) and a little shimmer was added to the lines on her dress with my Clear Star Gelly Roll pen from Sakura.
• sentiment: Verve "Ornamental Christmas"
• paper doily, jute twine, adhesive gem and snow flake die cut from my stash
• layout: Just Us Girls #218 (I took a few minor liberties like moving my snowflake to the opposite side of the card since my image panel was a little larger)
• Spellbinders Classic Rectangles to die cut the image panels.

challenges for this card:

• Through the Craft Room Door Dec 10-16: Anything Goes
• Christmas Card Challenges #2: Black and White (but any Christmas Card will do)
• The Corrosive Challenge #189: Anything Goes
• 52 {Christmas Card Throwdown}: Any previous challenge - I chose the no red or green colour combo challenge #22
• One Crazy Stamper: December Winter/Holiday Challenge

As always, thanks for stopping by!

Mojo Monday 256

Hi folks,

Well, today is our eldest cat's birthday - he is six  years old today and, being the crazy cat lady that I am, I made him a birthday card to go with is present.

I used this week's Mojo Monday sketch

and made a wee square card for him

card details:

• finished size: 4.25 x 4.25 inches, black card stock base (I know - I've rediscovered my love of black cardstock lately. I just think it makes the patterned paper pop)
• patterned papers: My Mind's Eye Lime Twist "Out of the Blue"
• stamps: Verve "Small Phrases" (happy birthday), Studio G (meow), Simply Betty Emo London's companion cat (I'm linking up to the digi in the store as I can't find the rubber version which I have - it may not be available any longer). Coloured the cat with PrismaColor pencils (black and grey so he would look like our Packet)
• buttons: Basic Grey Curio
• Spellbinders Labels Four

additional challenges for this card:

• Simply Challenged Challenges: Anything Goes! (with an SBS image - I hope London's "familiar" counts!)
• Less is More: 3-2-1 Recipe (I used 3 patterned papers, 2 buttons and 1 die cut)

Thanks for stopping by! Hope you are having a fabulous week!

Simply Betty and Unscripted Sketches

Hi folks,

I sat down to play this afternoon - did not work on any "have to  make" cards but did an "I want to make card".
Simply Betty Stamps has a nice little challenge over on their Facebook page - you can read the details over on the blog post here. Basically, post a card with a Simply Betty image over on their Facebook wall and Betty will send you one of the new digis about to be released. Pretty cool for anyone who is already a fan!

Since I already had this image of Christian coloured up and sitting in my basket of pre-coloured images, I thought I would go with it and see what I could come up with.

What do you think? I used this week's Unscripted Sketches #102 for the layout and I even did the piggyback challenge to use something recycled! Can you guess what it is? That swirly "wire" behind Christian is actually a guitar string. Whenever dearly beloved changes the strings on his guitars (he has half a dozen or so of them), I always snag them with plans to put them to use on my cards.

card details:

• finished size: 4.25 x 5.5 inches
• stamped image: Christian from Simply Betty Stamps, stamped with Memento Tuxedo black on Prism Simply Smooth. Coloured with Copic Markers (E00, E000, E25, YG63, YG67, G21, E35, E37, E39, C1, C3, C5, C7, T2, YR04, YR02)
• patterned papers: CTMH You Rock
• CTMH Textured Outdoor Denim and Goldrush cardstock, Outdoor Denim Brads.
• sentiment: The Greeting Farm Creepin' 8.5 x 11 Set

additional challenges for this card:

• Copic Creations: Challenge 48: favourite paper. I pretty much always use Prism Simply Smooth (now owned by Bazzil) but I just picked up some Copic X-Press so we shall see if I switch.

Hope you have all had a wonderful weekend.

ICS85 with Simply Betty

Hi folks,

Well, my resolve to actually paper-craft on weeknights to catch-up/get-ahead of all the cards I need for October has not panned out. In fact, this post is for a card for a birthday that was actually LAST Friday. But, since I knew I wouldn't be seeing the birthday girl's Dad until THIS Friday, I procrastinated - DESPITE the fact I knew I wanted to use THIS stamp and the fluffy green embellishment on the card. Anybody else guilty of doing this?

I love this collection from Simply Betty Stamps - in fact, I find it VERY hard to resist each new release that comes out. But.....I still haven't inked up the entire first collection so I am trying to stick to my guns and NOT buy more new stamps. Since I was colouring up this Betty for a teenager I TRIED to make her outfit a little less revealing by colouring in the shoulder area like it was a short sleeved shirt under the corset....with long fingerless gloves on her arms. But you could easily have her outfit a little more revealing by leaving her shoulders flesh coloured.

Now I can't quite tell if her little companion is supposed to be a Chihuahua type dog or if it is a Siamese type cat....of course, I favour cat.

Anyways, here are the details:

Copic Markers: E000, E00, E01, E21, E25, E27, E29, E33, E35, C5, C7, C9, YG63, YG67, YR02, YR04, YR18

Ink: Memento Tuxedo Black, CTMH Heavenly Blue

Papers: My Mind's Eye Home. Not sure how well it comes across in the photo but these papers are all sparkly! I think you can see it on the plaid the best in the photo but all three are glittery, sparkly papers - very heavily embossed. Come to think of it - I think that qualifies this card for the Day 212 challenge over at 365 Cards - the Three G's : Girl, Green and Glisten!

Spellbinders Nestabilities Labels Seventeen (Just arrived with six other new nestie sets from PaperWorksCo)

Sketch: Inspirational Card Sketches #85 (I flipped the sketch and instead of doing the ribbon treatment with a bow I did the plaid paper with the fluffy feather thingy - got it at Pritchard Packaging by the way)


Hope you all have a lovely weekend!

Mojo Monday with Christian

Hi folks!

Long time - no card! But I do have one tonight! If you are a frequent visitor, then you know that my dearly beloved plays D&D (Dungeons and Dragons). Well, in their little group, one of the players is actually second generation. Yes, nerds beget nerds. Dad and son both play. Well, son turns SIXTEEN tomorrow and I thought I should make a card to celebrate (his younger sister will be fifteen next week and she does NOT play - I'll be working on her card sometime this week).

For his card, I decided I needed to use Christian from Simply Betty Stamps. I just thought he would be a cool image on a birthday card for a teenager.

I hope he likes it!

The image is coloured with Copic Markers (E00, E000, E25, YG63, YG67, G21, E35, E37, E39, C1, C3, C5, C7, T2, YR04, YR02). Not sure how well you can see it in the photo, but I added a little shadow around Christian with the C1 and on the ground with C1 and C3. In my list of markers, you might see that I used T2 (toner). I added that to the left side of his hat to give the colour a little more depth. I think I should have used T1 though. For the shading on his clothing I stuck with simply blending two (or three) marker colours from the same family. I was trying out my shading skills for this week's challenge over at the Copic Creations Blog - Shading on and around your images.

I used this week's sketch from Mojo Monday for the layout. I switched out the ribbon/bow treatment in the sketch for a simple sequence of brads to match the CTMH outdoor denim cardstock. I figured this was a LITTLE more appropriate for a teenage boy.

Notice how I offset the image and the two cardstock mats for the image? I should do this more often as I really like the look. In this case, though, I did it to accomodate the biggest of the brads I wanted to use. If the image and the mats had been centred I would not have been able to squeeze them into the border.

Oh, the sentiment is from one of my sets from The Greeting Farm (I think it's from My Guy Ian) and the patterned papers are CTMH You Rock. I'm beginning to think that someone should do an intervention - or at least confiscate the last of my "You Rock" paper pack. I can't help using it whenever I have to make a masculine card! And ---- I STILL haven't used up the entire paper pack - I still have one or two sheets uncut and several half sheets ....and tons of scraps. Maybe I need to do a marathon use up the "You Rock" paper session just to get rid of it all.

You will probably see another card featuring Christian showing up on my blog soon - I coloured up a second image of him using the same colours tonight - but switched up the shirt and hat. So, I have an image on hand already to play!

Hope you are all having a fabulous week - I can't wait for the weekend!