SCS Mystery Image Swap - February 2016 Two Paper Divas & Reverse Confetti "Hello Good Friends"

With the other half away, I took advantage and spread out all my supplies to get some play time in.  How wonderful this is going to be that I don't have to clean up my table surface or piles for another month!

Here's my February submission for my group of a dozen other ladies from SCS.  This month, Tracie (taclary) sent us this cheerful watering can image full of flowers from Two Paper Divas.

Tracie states "this image is in honor of the friendships that I have made through SCS.  I am lucky to have each and every one of you as a friend. So February's challenge is in honor of the friendships that we have made through SCS."

I can't wait for her to see what I came up with and I hope that Dea, who's the next in our rotating recipient list, will like my card in person!

I really wanted to play with my copics since I never was an expert coloring gal.  There are lots of mistakes here and I managed to salvage it by using the pebbled dot texturizing technique on my watering can.  I have no idea if that's what the technique is called, but from looking at my coloring, I think you get the idea.

Since I decided to use the image without the perfectly stamped coordinating sentiment Tracie provided, I added some die cuts from Reverse Confetti to add to the Spring Friendship theme.

One last thing, I'm dying because my card suffered an accident at the very last minute when I was stamping an alternative friendship themed sentiment on the inside of my card.  The front of the cover made contact with my just reinker refreshed ink pad that was sitting right next to it!   Grr...I'm working on a desk that's about 3 feet wide and about 1.5 feet deep. I'm practically working on top of myself.  I need to clean up after myself much better to avoid this.  Unfortunately, adding color dots or sequins to mask my oopsie just crowds this card design so I've decided to just leave it as is.

I still think this card came out pretty cute!  Just for fun, I entered this card in the CASology challenge for their Week 185:Egg.

Thanks for visiting!







"Hello Friendship" Card
Paper: My Mind's Eye Now and Then Milo PP
Stamps: Two Paper Divas Bloom Wildly; Reverse Cnofetti Hippity Hoppity; SU Feel Goods
Ink: Copics Various;  SU Brocade Blue;  Wink of Stella Glitter  Yellow
Tools: Reverse Confetti Hippity Hoppity & Hello Dies; MFT Grass Border Die
Size: 4.25" x 5.5" rectangular 

Define Normal with Tim Holtz' Crazy Birds and Kuretake Gansai Watercolors Cards for SCS Baker's Dozen Swap - Week #4

Work is whopping my BEE-hind so I'm playing mad catch up with my swap cards to my weekly partner Dawn.  I've been having a blast texting with her somewhat regularly in between.  It seems she's having computer issues and I'm weathering long hours and long commutes, so I thought the sentiment of this card, "define normal?" seemed appropriate.

Finally got to play with my newly acquired Tim Holtz Bird Crazy stamps I just got at the recent rubber stamp convention last month.  I also happened to pop into a Hobby Lobby when I read somewhere on SCS of ladies finding the Kuretake Gansai watercolor set there. Ohhh, hello 40% off coupon?

Just like Jennifer Mcguire said her video tutorial, these Kuretake Gansai watercolors are very rich, creamy and buttery feeling when handling them.  I decided to make a color swatch before I started just to really see the true colors of cake pan.

Here's my first try using both the bird stamps and the Kuretake Gansai watercolors.  Hmm, I was impatient and didn't wait for the Momento ink to dry or did I heat emboss it to set it, so there's a bit of smearing.

I was hoping for my birdie to be a bit more happy primary color orange-y as that's Dawn's favorite color, but it came out a bit more distressed than I was intending.  Oh well, it definitely looks very Tim Holtz-y distressed.

Yes, I just made up a word.

Dawn seems to be the washi tape queen so she's inspiring me to use more washi tape in my designs and to decorate my envelopes.  Problem is, I only have one set that I ordered from SU earlier this year.  I'll have to make some time to browse the aisles at Michael's and pick up a few fun bright colors.  I remember seeing some super fun ones from Heidi Swapp.  For now, this will have to do but I think it should be brighter to anchor my very heavily colored crazy bird.

I had fun experimenting with new products and new mediums.

Entering this card in CASology's Week 158: Precious White Space Challenge.

Thanks for visiting!





"Define  Normal" Card
Paper: Canson Watercolor Paper 
Stamps: Tim Holtz Stampers Anonymous Tim Holtz Bird Crazy & Crazy Talk 
Ink: Memento Tuxedo Black; Kuretake Gansai Watercolors 
Embellishments: SU Watercolor Wonder Designer (gold dotted) washi tape
Size: 5.5" x 4.25" rectangular 

If You're HOPPY and You Know It, Clap Your Hands

For hostess Kim aka berlycee's "Clap Along" challenge (JUN15VSNB) at SCS to use hands for the ongoing Virtual Stamp Night event, I've had to really think outside the box because I don't have hand stamps or many animals/figures with their hands.  Then I saw the current Muse #122 inspiration featuring a trio of balloons and a sentiment.

This is what I whipped up this morning featuring this little frog from the Very Punny set from Stampin' Up! Another set I never was in love with all these years and almost sold last month.  But, as the trend is now for simple clean cute images, I decided to hold on to the set.

Thanks Kim for incentivising me to finally use it!

So you see 3 pairs of froggy hands, too, right?  Waving them up in the air, like they just don't care!

The sentiment is a verse from the popular nursery rhyme that's been a favorite of mine due to an adorable memory of my now 6 year old niece from back when she was just learning how to walk as a toddler.  She would nod her head, clap her hands, and actually get up on her feet and wobbly turn around in a circle whenever we'd stream this song on youtube for her IPad.  I swear, this was just like yesterday? And now, she's SIX!!

I printed the sentiment on my computer since I have no such stamp and just made space in between the lines to adhere the die cut word "hoppy" made out of green paper scraps.  Thanks to the CASology #151 Challenge for the push to use a nursery rhyme for a kid themed card. 

My trio of "hoppy" froggies was inspired by this week's Muse Challenge #122 card cue as aforementioned. 3 balloons translated to 3 froggies and then I just drew in the dashes by hand for their springy hopping pattern. 

Thanks for visiting!

"If You're Hoppy and You Know it, Clap Your Hands" Card
Paper: SU Whisper White; SU Gable Green; Making Memories PP
Stamps: SU Very Punny
Ink: Memento Black; Zig Writer Fine Tip Pen
Embellishments: QK Lemonade Alpha Dies; Spellbinders Label 8 Mega Nestabilities; SU 2013-2015 In Color Sequins
Size: 4.25" x 5.5" rectangular