Mystery Image: SU's Tractor!

Hello friends!

Every other month is the big reveal date for a Mystery Image Swap on Splitcoast.  This round is hosted by Linda and she sent us Stampin' Up's old fashioned tractor as an image.  How fun!

The image is stamped in black on white card stock.  After it was cut with Spellbinder's Deckle Edge Nestabilities, it was sponged with Antique Linen Distress Ink by Tim Holtz.  (First time using Distress Inks for me, yes, I'm hooked!)  Then I sponged on some Garden Green (SU!) ink under the tractor.

How do you like that tree?!  That's a new Embossing folder by Darice that I fussy cut.  I kind of like how it goes with the tractor.  The card stock is Dusty Durango by Stampin Up, the tree is Garden Green and the brown Candi Dots are also by SU.

Linda, thank you so much for giving us a GREAT image this round!  It stretched me a bit, and that's a good thing.  I hope that you like all the cards and that you find good uses for them.  Thanks for being a wonderful hostess!

Dueling Gardeners

Time for another round of the Dueling Darlings!

My wonderful partner in crime for the Darlings is Tami and we thought that gardening would be a fun theme.  For the Dazzlers I selected "Gardening Shelf" by Stamps Happen.  Here is my card:

The papers are from K & Co's "Lemon Citron" pack, the ribbon is from Ribbon Boutique (Hobby Lobby) and the fun Garden Tool brads are from Eyelet Outlet.

 Lots of improvisations while making this card.   First off, I didn't realize that my circle punch wouldn't be centered on the front panel until too late.  Hence the ribbon at the top of the card!

Here's a side view showing some depth:

...And here is the inside panel:

The second improvisation came when coloring the image.  I really did NOT like the background shading that I ended up with, so fussy cutting was the only option.  Here's a closer view of the image:

To me it really looks like D.  Morgan's art, but it is not labeled as such.


Tami and I have also asked that each team member post a gardening tip, and here's mine:

Pay attention to the soil and roots!  So much of the success or failure of plants goes on below the soil line.  Some roots prefer more air than others.  Some prefer dryer conditions, others thrive on constant moisture.  Usually, if a plant has the right conditions for their roots, it can withstand almost anything above the soil line!

That's it for me this round - and I wasn't even late!  (yes, it really is me posting hahaha)  Now it's off to visit the blogs of the other Dazzlers and the Divas for more gardening delights.  Check them out, links are in my sidebar!

Time for another fun round of the Dueling Darlings!  Paola is the hostess for the Dazzlers and the theme is music!

“Music gives a soul to the universe, wings to the mind, 

flight to the imagination and life to everything.”

~ Plato~

Paola's kit was chock full of goodies, as you can see from the list below!

I went old-school on coloring: watercolor pencils and blender pens on the Treble Cleff and violin, sponges and SU ink pads on the Just A Note punch out and the sheet music behind the violin.

Did you notice that fantastic music die cut?  Thanks Paola, that was wonderful!

Stamps: Gift Of Music /D.Morgan by Stamps Happens Inc ;
Violin/Music scroll & Angel w/Instrument: Unknown
Sentiments by: Cling Stamps Co. # 557133
Accessories:
Designer Papers: Up,Up & Away (Doodle Bug Design); Bella Boutique Stack (DCWV); SU Double D/P x 2; Elementary Pianoforte Music Examination (from a real Conservatory of Music book)
Ribbon: barely banana grosgrain from SU
Virtuoso Music Die in black and in white (Memory Box;
Viviene Butterfly (Music Box);
Assorted gems and pearls in a variety of shape/sizes

An extra part of the challenge was for us to pick a song and dedicate it to someone.

Actually, that is impossible for me.  The list would be a book of people, places, events, etc.  I can not live without music.  A song can take me back to specific moments, memories, people, events, etc.  I almost always wake up with a different song in my head every single day.  

But at this exact moment..."I get by with a little help from my friends..." is drifting through my mind as I think of the wonderful women that this hobby has brought in to my life.  It's been a strange year, and all of you have made a difference for me!  Thank you.

Autocorrect Humor

Have you come across the new line of stamps from Riley and Company, Funny Bones?  If not, give yourself many chuckles and check them out!  I treated myself to an order a few weeks back and they are such fun.

This card inaugurates a new (to me) Whippersnapper Stamp: The Perfect Birthday.  It's so fun and whimsical.  The image is colored with Spectrum Noir markers, cut out and popped up.  There is some shine and glitter applied using Spica Glitter pens and some Crystal Effects, although it doesn't show up in the photo.

The inside features one of the Funny Bones stamps new to my collection:


Hehehehe.



The Hippie Bertha was computer generated, punched and then sponged with yellow ink.  I played around with autocorrect on my phone and this was actually what it generated.  Too funny!



I only made two of these cards, one for a friend of mine and one to give to a coworker for her to send to someone.

But you can bet that these stamps will be seeing more ink soon!

Thanks for stopping by and have a great day!

Girls' Night Out!

April 15th, and better than taxes - it's time for the Dueling Darlings to face off!!  This month our Darling Hostesses, Kadie for the Divas and April for the Dazzlers, picked "Girls' Night Out" as our theme!  Here's what April sent to the Dazzlers:

"Who doesn't like to spend time with their bffs?"  We were also asked to post who our longest friends are and what we like to do when we spend time with them.

Here is my creation with April's kit.

Image: Ginger Snaps Celebrate by C. C. Designs

DP: Pink Swirls and Pink Gingham by Paper Pizazz and Paper Jazzy by Colorbok

Cardstock: Sugar & Spice, Coffee and Fuschia Fizz by Coredination.


Her kit also contained an ample assortment of embellishments, of which I used the pink ribbon.




April, I have to admit, here are the first things I said when I looked at your kit:
        "Ohhhh, cute image!    WOW, that's a LOT of pink!"
Anyone who knows me knows that I really don't do pink.  Never have.  The closest I can come is using it for flowers and I can use the various coral shades and some with redder tones.

However, I do like combinations like brown and pink, turquoise and pink, etc.  So I decided to use some Tempting Turquoise from my stash.

Here's a closer look at our party girl.  Of course she'd get her glam on wearing sparkly clothes and shoes for her girls' night out!


I also added some sparkle to the 4 corners of the brown scalloped rectangle to set her off from the background a bit.

April, my friend - your kit challenged me, hehehe, with all that pink!  And that's good!  I hope that you like what I came up with.



I am blessed with many friends, scattered all across the country.  My absolute longest friend is Cheryl in Seattle.  We count more decades together than either of us cares to admit!  And when we are together it really doesn't matter what we're doing, we just enjoy each other so much.  She's my treasure.

I am also fortunate to have a tight circle of friends near where I live and we get together a few times a year, usually for a meal at one of our houses.  We've been there for one another in good times and tough times.

And of course, there are my talented card making friends from the US, Canada and New Zealand!  These women in the Dueling Darlings and Stamp Addicts are an important part of my life.  We share our challenges and our triumphs in life and in our craft.  What could be better than that?

Thanks for stopping by and be sure to visit the Dazzlers and the Divas blogs for their creations this round.  You won't be sorry, I promise!

March's Duel - National Umbrella Month!

Hello my friends!  March was a hairy-scary month for me, and I am glad that it's behind me now!  Let's hear it for Spring and all of the newness that Spring brings!

The Dueling Darlings were at it again (of course) and Terry was our hostess for the Dazzlers.

She chose "The Rain Will Come" image by My Favorite Things, in their a la mode line.  Here is my card with her kit:

The wonderful crimson paper is from Coredinations, "Blush Red".  Boy is it a lush color!  The pale blue paper is embossed with an old Fiskars plate from my stash.  That paper is such a lovely color, it's from the Sea Salt collection in Bazzil Basics.

The great floral DP is from Paper Pizazz, isn't it pretty?  the flowers are from Martha Stewart and the pink dots layered on top are Craftwork Card Candi.

Here's a close up of the image, she's colored with a combination of SU water markers and Spectrum Noir markers, and the extra sparkle is done with Stickles.  Her umbrella was stamped with some ancient little peg stamps that I have around here, I think that they may be Judikens.

I really like the sentiment that Terry included and here's how I used it on the inside of the card:

So very true, right?!

Terry, you supplied a fun kit with some paper that made me say "Wow!" - thank you!!  And a big thank you to all of my friends who've been helping me weather a stormy patch of my own!  I couldn't get by without you.

Mystery Image Revealed!

Poof....Puffffff....Pffffttt...    That's the sound of me blowing the dust bunnies off my little blog.  Too many demands from work lately, plus a couple rounds of being sick, have made my blog stale!  Well, time to catch up!

March 18th was our reveal date for a Mystery Swap on Split Coast Stampers.  It's a fun group of gals who take turns hosting.  Each hostess picks an image, stamps off sets for all in the group.  We get the image and all have to create cards with it.

It's a mystery until we all receive the image, no one but the host knows what we get to work with!  Great fun!  March's host was Mae, and she picked a lovely favorite from Stampin Up:

Isn't she just darling?  She is colored with a mixture of Spectrum Noir markers, Stampin Up markers and pencils.  Not because I'm that creative mind you, but because my SN markers seem to be drying out.  (I noticed the problem right after buying them, but now, 2yrs later, it's beyond hope until I buy refills)

Maybe this close up shows the sparkle added to her flowers and shoes (thanks to Spica glitter pen)


















The background has been sponged with chalk.










The floral DP is an old one from SU and the embossed lavender paper is DCWV.  Thank you Mae, for picking such a great image this round!  I should have my returns from this swap and can hardly wait to see what others have done.

That's about it from me for now.  I hope to be back here in a day or two with another posting of some cards made for other swaps back in February and March.  Have a great day and thanks for stopping by!