Lockhart Tulips Sympathy

Good morning! Today I have another sympathy card to share with you. I made this card using this week's sketch over at Card Positioning Systems (CPS254). 

The tulip image, which was colored using Copic markers, is from Lockhart Stamp Company and the patterned papers are from My Mind's Eye's Lost & Found Sunshine collection. The sentiment is from Papertrey Ink.

The sentiment on the inside is from Stamp Camp (Many Tears).  Click on the photo to see it larger so you can read it - it's a wonderful sentiment!

Thanks for stopping by!

Dragonfly Sympathy

I made this card for Prickley Pear's February sketch challenge.  I am trying to build up a stash of cards and find that sympathy cards are the ones I need quickly and don't usually have on hand so I'm starting there.  I used Prickley Pear's Dragonflies stamp and die set and My Mind's Eye's Miss Caroline - Fiddlesticks papers.  The sentiment, card stock and ribbon are all from Papertrey Ink.

I like to use dragonflies on sympathy cards and include the Legend of the Dragonfly on the inside.  Here it is if you're not familiar with it:

The Legend of the Dragonfly

In the bottom of an old pond lived some grubs who could not understand why none of their groups ever came back after crawling up the stems of the lilies to the top of the water. They promised each other that the next one who was called to make the upward climb would return and tell what happened to him. Soon one of them felt an urgent impulse to seek the surface; he rested himself on the top of a lily pad and went through a glorious transformation, which made him a dragonfly with beautiful wings. In vain, he tried to keep his promise. Flying back and forth over the pond, he peered down at his friends below. Then he realized that even if they could see him they would not recognize such a radiant creature as one of their number.

The fact that we cannot see our friends or communicate with them after the transformation, which we call death, is no proof that they cease to exist.

Thanks for stopping by!

RI SOTW - Candy Cane Santa

We have a new Stamp of the Week over at The House That Stamps Built and it's this fun little Candy Cane Santa (303-I).  I decided to take a vintage turn with him and paired him with My Mind's Eye Lost and Found Chrstmas papers for the background.  I stamped Merry Christmas (1141-F) at the bottom of the text background.

I cut the bottom sheet of patterned paper in half and was able to stretch it to make two cards using this image. Santa was colored using Copic markers and the background was sponged with Distress Inks while it was still in the die.

The striped ribbon is from Stampin' UP! and I colored the plain twine with one of the Copic markers I used on Santa's suit.

Please be sure to head over to The House That Stamps Built to get the details for picking this image up for 50% off and to see the other fun cards the rest of the team has made with it!

Thanks for stopping by!

MFT Sketch Challenge - Too Sweet

I decided to play along in this week's sketch challenge (MFTWSC44) over at My Favorite Things and made this card using Pure Innocence Lollipop Girl.  She was colored with Copic markers and her dress was paper pieced.  The image is matted using Oval Decorative Doily die and the horizontal strip was cut using Faux Crochet Border die.  The patterned papers are from My Mind's Eye Lost and Found Two - Blush collection. 

I added some Viva Glass Effect Gel - Crystal Clear to the lollipop and her barrette.  The bow was made with seam binding and I added a flower button, tied with pink twine. I drew a border around both stamped panels while they were still in the die and then colored the edge using a pink Copic marker.

Thanks for stopping by!

MFTWSC41

I made this birthday card for a friend this week and based it on My Favorite Things' current sketch challenge (MFTWSC41).  I used stamps from the Pure Innocence Mud Buddies set and colored the image using Copic and Spica markers.  The trowel and pot in the image were replaced with metal charms and her outfit was paper pieced using papers from My Mind's Eye Lost and Found Sunshine collection.  The other patterned papers are from My Mind's Eye Stella Rose Hattie collection and I added Swarovski crystals to the centers of the flowers for a little sparkle.

Hope you're having a great weekend!  Thanks for stopping by!

A Pair of Sympathy Cards

I needed two sympathy cards - one feminine and one masculine. I used this week's Color Throwdown #162 colors (Pool Party, Barely Banana, Creamy Caramel and Early Espresso) for my palette and made both cards using My Mind's Eye's Stella and Rose - Hattie collection.

The Tulip stamp on the first card is from The Angel Company and the Many Tears (SD021) sentiment on the second card is from Stamp Camp - this is one of my all time favorite sympathy sentiments (you can click on the photo to see it larger).

The layout I used for both cards is based on this month's Sketch for you to Try.

Thanks for stopping by!

With Sympathy

I have found myself needing a few sympathy cards lately - I hate that...For this card I used a stamp from The Angel Company, which is now defunct in case you didn't know.  Too bad, they had nice stamps.  The sentiment is from Flourishes and the patterned papers are from My Mind's Eye's Lost and Found 2 Sunshine collection.

The layout for my card is based on this week's Card Postitioning Systems' sketch (CPS238).  This card also fits this week's challenge over at The Paper Players, which is to add music to your project (the three vertical strips of patterned paper behind my focal image).

Thanks for stopping by!

RI DCC Challenge - Color Challenge

It's time for another Repeat Impressions Designer's Choice Challenge (DCC) and this time's it's my turn to be the challenge hostess!  My challenge for you is a color challenge - Rust, Robin's Egg Blue, Kraft and a neutral of your choice (black, brown, white, ivory).  I used brown for my neutral and Bird and Blossoms (1321 - M) for my focal image, and I colored it using Copic markers.  The patterned papers are from My Mind's Eye and Canvas Corp (the rust and kraft stripe).

Please make your way over to The House That Stamps Built for the challenge rules, to find out the prize for this challenge and to see the wonderful creations from the rest of the design team!

Thanks for stopping by!

RI Sketch Challenge - Spring Blossoms

We have a new Repeat Impressions Sketch Challenge for you this week.  For my card, I used 1320-M Spring Blossoms for my focal image and the sentiment is from the Quartet Complements series.  The flowers were colored using Copic markers and the backgrounds of both images were airbrushed.  I added some Spica marker over the flower centers and the sentiment for a little sparkle. 

Please be sure to go to The House That Stamps Built to find the details for entering the sketch challenge and to see the wonderful cards the rest of the team has made using the sketch!

Thanks for stopping by!

FireCracker Designs Guest Designer - Week 2

Happy Friday!  It's time for me to show you another card I made using a digital image from FireCracker Designs by Pamela.  This week I'm using Spring Walk.  I printed the image out using my ink jet printer and colored it with Copic markers to match the patterned paper, which is from My Mind's Eye So Sophie collection.  The card base is Stampn' Up! Bermuda Bay and the mat layer under the image is the reverse side of the patterned paper.  I paired it all with this wonderful, shimmery ribbon that I bunched up on a strip of ScorTape.  I made the bow using the Bow Easy and tied the little sentiment tag, from Doodlebug Designs, to it using some twine.

That's about it!  Have a great weekend!  Thanks for stopping by!

The bad blogger is back....

Wow...forgive me readers, it's been 11 days since I've blogged...sounds like confession...

Anywhooo, here I am again. This has just been one of the craziest of months around here - please forgive me for being so bad about blogging. I am finally home, after being out of town for 8 days - partly for work and partly for pleasure. The part that was for pleasure was very fun and included attending a Copic Certification class this past weekend! So, now I'm not only certifiable, I'm also certified! Probably the most important thing I learned from the class is the need to continue to practice, practice, practice.

This card is one I made before I went out of town, and intended to post it from the road, but time just got away from me. This is some more glittery patterned paper from My Mind's Eye's Laundry Line - Coastal collection. Since I've needed so many sympathy cards lately, I guess I was still in that frame of mind when I made this one. The quote is a little hard to read in the photo, but it says "May hope sustain you, friends surround you, and love give you strength.".

The main panel was stamped with Brilliance Pearlescent Copper ink and I used Papertrey Ink's With Sympathy set and a Nestabilities Label One die to cut and emboss the panel. The rhinestones in the flower centers and the butterfly are Taylor's Tiny Twinkles. The buttons are from Papertrey Ink and 7 Gypsies and were threaded with embroidery floss. The flower behind the center buttons was a plain white one from Stampin' UP! that I colored with the Copper ink. The crochet trim is from my stash.

The chipboard pieces on the top and bottom of the card are also from the My Mind's Eye Laundry Line collection, and were originally a single, 12" long piece, that I cut it into sections to fit the card. I added some Dew Drops in the left corners to add a little something to it.

I think that's about it! Hope your week is going well so far! Thanks again for bearing with me - I'll try to be a better blogger this week!

Plant a seed of friendship

I created this card using the CPS104 sketch from March 22nd. The embossed and glittered patterned paper is from Mind Mind's Eye's Laundry Line collection (Sundress Heirloom) and the rust colored paper I used for my mats is from BasicGrey's Marrakech collection (African Nectar).

The flower stamp is an old one from Hero Arts and was colored using Copic markers (E11, E35, R02, YR00, YR41, Y26, YG95, G99,0). The sentiment is from Cornish Heritage Farms. Both stamped panels were sponged/distressed using Ranger Distress Inks (Antique Linen and Vintage Photo). The ribbon is from May Arts. Here's a close up of the glittery embossed background:

Hope you're having a good week! I'm excited about going to see A Chorus Line tonight at the Fox Theater. Thanks for looking!