Penny Black -- Ground

I hope everyone has had a nice weekend.  This weekend I have been working on challenges and trying a new technique that I will show later this week.  This card is for the Penny Black challenge -- Ground. We are to make a card making a background with Penny Black stamps. I don't have any small PB stamps to make a background with, so I used the flowers from this cute hedgehog for my background! You can click here to see the challenge and other fun cards that others have made. http://pennybfriendssaturdaychallenge.blogspot.com/

In the Garden

Good morning! I hope you are having a good day and staying out of the heat! I have been playing this week with some new dies. I love birds and flowers and bows as you can see from these cards.

Zentangle With Color

Two posts below I showed my first attempt on a zentangle using stamps with it. I tried another one and added some color to this time. Here is the result. One thing about these is that you can do sections, leave it and come back to it later. I have enjoyed doing these and plan to make more in the future.

A Garden of Good Wishes

At Basic Grey the challenge this week is a sketch. You can see it by clicking here. http://basicgreychallenges.blogspot.com/. I love using birds on my cards so I chose these sweet chickadees from Sparkle N Sprinkle. I used Basic Grey papers from the Out of Print pad and  colored the birds with colored pencils and Gamsol. The circle is a spellbinders die.

Zentangles

On a the Two Peas discussion board we were discussing zentangles and how we can make them using stamps. If you do not know what zentangles are, here is a link. http://zentangle.com/gallery.php. These are a form of elaborate doodles. I have been intimidated with these, but thought I would try my hand at one today since we were discussing them and since I was going to try starting with stamps. I used my brand new butterfly from the dollar bin at Michael's and stamped it 3 times. I used an open flower stamp I had and stamped it 3 times. Then I started to doodle around them. It really isn't as hard as it looks and I really had fun with it. I also had some K&CO. paper that had a zentangle on it, so I used it as my inspiration. I would like to make some more and add some color, so hopefully I will upload some more soon. The first picture is the paper I used for inspiration and the second is my zentangle. I can see how you can get hooked on these!

Wish You Were Here

At Daring Card Makers the challenge this week is to make a card with the theme Wish You Were Here. I decided to make a post card. I started with a tag from K&Co. and stamped the ship and plane on it. The postage stamp in the middle is a 3-D sticker. I stamped the saying, palm tree and swirl on the bottom layer and used cuttlebug shell dies and popped them up. I wish I was here myself! LOL! You can see the challenge by clicking the link. http://daringcardmakers.blogspot.com/

Embossing

I am entering this card into two challenges -- Simon Says Embossing and Impression Obsession Any Type Greeting Card. I was itching to use my new lattice die from Cheery Lynn Designs. I cut out the lattice using thin cardboard and then painting Tim Holtz crackle paint on it and rubbing Tea Dye Distress ink over it. This Flower Wheelbarrow stamp ( D1312 ) from Impression Obsession went perfectly with this card. I ran black core card stock through a cuttlebug folder and sanded the card stock for the green to show through. I also used embossing powder to emboss the wheelbarrow. You can see the challenges by clicking here --http://simonsaysstampandshow.blogspot.com/

http://mitrafriant.typepad.com/impression_obsession_news/

Summer Colors

At Magnolia Stamp Lovers this week the challenge is Summer Colors. When I think of summer colors I think of bright, flashy colors like lime green, hot pink, yellow, etc. So as you can see I used these bright colors on my card. I just had to use one of my new Magnolia stamps that I bought this weekend when I went to the Scrap and Stamp show this weekend. I also used a new die from Memory Box. Their dies are so sweet and delicate. I am also using this card for the Daring Card Makers challenge where we are to use a picture off Pinterest as an inspiration. I love making birthday cards so this picture was my inspiration and it had the bright summer colors I like too. .http://pinterest.com/pin/16368002/.  You can see the challenges by clicking here.http://magnoliastamplovers.blogspot.com/  and  http://daringcardmakers.blogspot.com/.

Buttons, Bows and Bling

I had a wonderful time at the Scrap and Stamp Convention in Winston-Salem, NC this past weekend! I came back to do some challenges this week and of course to use some new products I bought! This card is for the House Mouse challenge -- Buttons, Bows and Bling. This card was so much fun. I love the theme because all of these are my favorite embellishments. I just had to use this new card stock from My Mind's Eye. It is a little hard to see the bling, but I used rhinestones in some of the centers of the flowers on the card stock. You can click here to see the challenge and blog hop for this week. http://housemouse-challenge.blogspot.com/

Sponge Technique

I was thinking about trying some technique today. I was looking on the Posh Club stamping board and I saw Andrew Overton's  sponge technique, so I gave it a try. I had forgotten how great a sponged piece looks. The background on this card was sponged with 3 different colors of dye based yellow inks. The blue and red flowers and leaves were also sponged in the different shades of that color and the blue and red flowers were popped up. This was fun! I am glad I discovered this technique today.

It's Your Day

I made this card for the Just Magnolia challenge this week. We had a sketch to follow. You can see the challenge by clicking here. http://justmagnolia.blogspot.com/. I had fun with this card. I always love using Magnolia stamps. I decided to turn this card into a birthday card. I love, love ice cream. This little cutie is certainly enjoying her ice cream cone!

Make a Splash

At House Mouse and Friends the challenge this week is Make a Splash! I loved making this card because it has been so hot here! We did have a nice rain last night, but boy is it humid today. I just love this cute House Mouse stamp. The little mouse on the end is really enjoying the rainy day. I paper pieced the umbrellas and added 3-D raindrops. You can click here to see the challenge -- http://housemouse-challenge.blogspot.com/

Sweet Magnolia

I love the Magnolia stamps. All the images are so sweet! I am entering this card into two challenges. The first is at Just Magnolia where the challenge is -- Anything goes plus shabby chic as an option. The other challenge is at Magnolia Stamp Lovers where the challenge is Summer Flowers. I loved making this card using flowers and ribbon which are my favorite embellishments. You can see the challenges by clicking here.  http://justmagnolia.blogspot.com/ and  http://magnoliastamplovers.blogspot.com/.

Hello

I have been working on challenges today and I have enjoyed all of them. This card is being entered into the Impression Obsession challenge -- Hello. You can see the challenge by clicking here. http://mitrafriant.typepad.com/impression_obsession_news/. I used the Porch with a Flag stamp ( E1726 ) and the Cover a Card Gingham stamp ( CC006 ). The saying is from Hero Arts. I used some ribbon I dyed not long ago, to embellish. I used yellow and green Flower Soft on the pots on the porch. I really like how the gingham background turned out.

Button Button, Who's Got the Button

I hope everyone had a wonderful weekend. I enjoyed seeing fireworks displays twice! We also had good eats and fun with friends. Awhile back I saw some button creations online. I decided to make some to use on my cards. I really need to use up my mountain of paper scraps, so I was determined to use JUST my scraps for this project. Here are my button creations and a card I made with one of them.

Let's Eat!

At Cat's pajamas this week we have a sketch to follow.  I must have the 4th on my mind because I went with a BBQ theme. Isn't this the cutest cat? He looks like he's cookin' up a good meal! You can see the challenge by clicking here.  http://dancinginpajamas.blogspot.com/

Happy 4th

I just want to say Happy July 4th to everyone! I hope you have a safe and happy weekend. I also want to pay tribute to those in the military and their families for the sacrifices they have made to keep our country free. I have been all over the world and I can honestly say that we have the greatest country on earth. God Bless America! Amen!