Thursday, July 25, 2013

Snow in July


Hello everyone, no snow outside but plenty on my scrapbook page that I created for the sketch at MDSM23 . It has been fun making these digital scrapbook pages and if you would like to give it a try, there is still a bit of time before this challenge ends.



These pictures were from the foot of snow we got in mid January this year and shows Rick trying to shovel the little porch and a path for our outside cats and their house.  Unfortunately some of the neighbors trees did not survive and had to be trimmed back. The cats love having this to curl up in and look out through the windows. . Since the previous owner's grandchildren had all grown up and no longer had a need for it, Rick was able to pick it up for a reasonable price a few years back and convert it to a play house for our outside girls.

Now in the summer, they love lying on the front porch and surveying the back yard and when winter comes again, they will curl up in the baskets on the shelves and soak in the sunshine.

My papers are from the Christmas Jingle kit and the snowflakes are from the set "Bright Hopes".
I love being able to design so quickly in MDS and one of my favorite tools is the color picker so that you can match perfectly.

Hope you will check out this great challenge.

Have a happy day.....

Sunday, July 21, 2013

Playing with In Colors


Hello friends, I found two challenges that I wanted to combine in my card, the first is the sketch this week at Freshly Made Sketches and their Sketch 95 and then a color challenge at Just Add Ink where for their color challenge #174 they are using some of the new in colors at Stampin' Up. 


JAI_CC_#174

I didn't have the baked brown sugar or coastal cabana card stock but was able to print a half sheet of each from My Digital Studio, love having that option. I wanted to pop up my layers for some dimension but I also wanted to be able to mail this card without too much bulk so I used the button embosslit to cut my buttons from some of the left over Coastal Cabana paper. The flowers were stamped as well with some of the extra paper and fussy cut to pop up on my stamped image, love this new set "Gifts of Kindness" and see using it a lot in the future. I found a piece of graph paper in Echo Park's paper pack "So Happy Together" that was a great match with the Coastal Cabana color.
Here is the inside and envelope where I stamped the floral image in Versafine vintage sepia.




Rick and I are off to shoot some clay targets this afternoon with some friends, hope you all have a wonderful weekend planned as well. Hugs until we see each other again.

Card Details,
Stampin' Up products:
Very vanilla card stock, envelope, stamp set "Gifts of Kindness", Embosslit Buttons die,linen thread, Coastal Cabana and Baked Brown Sugar printed from MDS

Other: brown twill ribbon Walmart, Versafine vintage sepia, foam pop dots, Spellbinders Labels 18, Recollections gem



Thursday, July 18, 2013

Playing with MDS....


I have been playing a bit with My Digital Studio from Stampin' Up to see what I could create and was delighted with the sketch this week at mds Monday .They also have a theme asking you to use one designer kit and since "Beau Chateau" is one of my very favorites.... 




I layered some of the papers from this kit, matting some of them. I love the color picker tool so that you can match your mats beautifully and effortlessly. The only addition I made that wasn't from the kit is the antique brad in the corner. I hope you will check out mds Monday and if you don't already own this software, maybe give some of the videos a try so that you can see what you are missing and then pick up the program. I am so happy that I purchased this.

Happy Day!



Wednesday, July 17, 2013

CAS with DP's Cattail Pond



Happy Day, Hope everyone is having a great start to their week. I wanted to post this card that I made using the outline digital set "Cattail Pond" from Doodle Pantry , this set also comes in color as well if you don't like to color yourself.

I love to color or at least try,lol. This was done with a combination of distress inks and Spectrum Noir markers. I merged the image into my Silhouette Cameo software, traced the image and then did an offset so that I could create a frame to match my lovely pond which I placed on foam dots to give it some dimension. The cattails and sentiment I printed and cut with a label mat also from Cameo. I again copied and printed the same cattail which I traced and cut with the Cameo and then used the foam dots to place over the first one.


I am entering this into a great challenge at Addicted to CAS where the theme is "Water" and the inspiration to use this image. There is still a couple of days before the challenge ends for you to join in as well



I am also entering this at DPDC36 at the Doodle Pantry Blog  where all my old teammates still play and the challenge is anything goes with a Doodle Pantry image. The free set sent to those that join in this month is a fabulous set of holiday greetings that I can't wait to play with. Never too soon to make some more Christmas cards.

I am so happy you took the time to stop by for a visit and hope you will give these blogs a visit!





Friday, July 12, 2013

Playing with Distress Inks....


This fun sketch at CAS(E) this Sketch was my inspiration and starting point for my card. 


The team have created some beautiful cards this week, so I would encourage you to give it a try.

I used an ATC size watercolor card and distress inks in peeled paint, faded jeans and broken china for my background. Stampin' Up's stamp set "Just Believe" has been one of my very favorites with it's lovely sentiments and silhouette images.
The butterfly was cut with a Sizzix die out of more watercolor paper, distressed with the same inks and then stamped with a Hero Arts script stamp.

Hope you all have a wonderful weekend planned, thanks for stopping by to visit!



Wednesday, July 10, 2013

What?!? A Scrapbook Page!


It has been forever since I have created any type of scrapbook page but decided to give it a try using My Digital Studio. I have neglected this program lately and wanted to see what I could come up with using it. So much fun looking at all of the stamps, colors and embellishments to play with.

I missed the deadline for the card challenge this week at Just Add Ink but while visiting I saw where they have a scrapbook challenge as well. Check it out here  JAI Scrap#19-Monochromatic. 

Rick and I have our fur babies which are near and dear to our hearts and Cricket is our most senior at just a little over 18 years. She started going blind a couple of years ago and while investigating this symptom, we discovered that she has a benign tumor on her parathyroid gland. We have been able to regulate it's growth with medicine but no recovery for her eyesight.
She has since lost the majority of her hearing which can make it very scary for her when we touch her unexpectedly but overall she has adjusted very well to her loss.

She is and always will be our Princess.

This is a picture I took of her napping in Rick's 'man cave' just before he left for Argentina so that he could look at it while away. I thought it would be perfect for this challenge.

For my page I used shades of blue with my base being my favorite "baja breeze", never can get enough of this color. I added a piece of the baja breeze dot paper along with the twine and buttons in the same color. How much fun adding all of the elements on a digital page and I can't wait to try another one soon.
Hope you like it and will stop by at Just Add Ink soon and check out the next card challenge which will be up soon and if you love scrap booking and going monochromatic, this challenge doesn't end until later this month.

hugs and thanks for stopping by.....

Tuesday, July 2, 2013

Just Add Ink



Happy Tuesday morning. While surfing around the other day I came across another sketch that I just couldn't wait to try at Just Add Ink and since I am so far behind in creating the Christmas cards that I had good intentions in creating at the first of the year so that I would be ahead come holiday time I decided to use it to add another to my stash. 



I am still loving my Silhouette Cameo and for this used a flourished frame I had purchased when I first bought my machine. I moved the inside cut line which created a background mat with the flourish and then used the inside cut line to create an inside mat out of the white card stock.

Stamping part of the beautiful bird stamp from the set "Beautiful Season" from Stampin' Up which I then colored using both Spectrum Noir and Copic markers and added a piece of twine to complete.
By lifting the layers with foam dots it gave it some depth-here is a side close up view. 


Thanks for stopping by today. I hope you will stop by Just Add Ink, the design team created some beautiful inspiration pieces. 

Hugs.....

Card Details:
Paper: GinaKDesigns base weight white, unknown textured red 
Stamps: Stampin' Up Beautiful Season
Other: Silhouette Cameo flourish frame, Teresa Collins twine, Spectrum Noir and Copic markers, Versafine onyx black ink

Monday, July 1, 2013

Wow...Where Have I Been?

Hello my friends....such a long time since I have posted anything, I hope that I haven't been forgotten!?!?

When I finished my post the end of April with the last of my design team commitments I knew that I would be using some of my new found time to play and work  around home but had no idea that it would be so long before I made another card, how did I ever make it? It has been a busy two months with Rick and I both doing some traveling and projects around our home.
 We shot in one of the largest sporting clay shoots this past May in South Carolina. What a wonderful time we had, meeting up with old friends and making new ones. I finished 5th in my class in one of my events and was so happy with my small trophy. As there were 1145+ shooters competing I felt very happy to have finished where I did in the overall numbers. Rick has been to Argentina on a hunting trip which went very well with lots of new pictures and memories of a new country. 
I hope this Spring has been a great time for all of you.

This past weekend I finally got back in my stamp room and created a couple of cards.



I went looking for a bit of inspiration and found this great sketch at Fusion and their Fusion Hypothesis 13: 



As you can see I used both the sketch and the inspiration of the birds. Paper pieced flowers, Silhouette Cameo and distress inks created this card.... Using the new stamp set "Simply Sketched" by Stampin' Up I stamped the image in Versafine vintage sepia on my frame which was cut with the Cameo, I again stamped the flowers on scraps of K&Co paper which I fussy cut and placed on the label with foam dots. The bird is from the same set and after cutting it out I colored it with my distress inks. 

Here is a closer view:



I used the part of my flower that I cut from the edge of the label to decorate the inside. How much fun to finally get started back and create something with this great challenge.

Check out  the great team's creations at Fusion and hopefully join in yourself.

Just a last bit of newness to my blog....I created my new blog header using digital elements that I purchased from Optic Illusions . Kate creates some beautiful things, please take a look around and say hi to her.
So happy to be back in blogland and I hope to visit with you all soon.

hugs......

Card Details:
Paper: Stampin' Up river rock, textured white, K&Co scraps
Stamps: SU  Simply Sketched
Other: Versafine vintage sepia, distress inks, Silhouette Cameo--frame and banner, Queen & Co rhinestones