Make It Monday - Wallpaper Stamping

Good morning!

I am so excited to still be enjoying this mild, NON HUMID weather in Middle TN! It's making me so happy! I have the kitchen windows open while I sit here on the computer sipping my coffee. Perfection! (Of course, the kids did get on up, not sleeping in quite so late now that I've backed their bedtime up a little. It's super sad, but necessary.) It's not as quiet as I love in the mornings now, but still can't complain!


I'm here to share a card that I made in my crafty session earlier this week. I wanted to play along with the Make It Monday Wallpaper Stamping challenge. Anything that gets me keyed up about using stamps I already have and making me get creative with them is a good thing. I'm trying to do better! =)

I used my Autumn Pattern Pieces and a heart from Bubble Talk.

I love how it turned out. I stamped my repeating shape in Amuse Latte Pigment ink. The heart, SMILE, and sentiment are all in Hibiscus Burst. (my new favorite pink!) I used Rustic White card base and panel.

Thanks so much for stopping by to visit! Pin It

CASology #106

 

Hello!

I'm sharing one more card tonight. As I mentioned in my previous post, I managed to get some crafty time this afternoon while the kids were playing outside with friends. I'm still a little agog at the amount of "quiet time" I've had today. It's almost freaky. LOL!

I made a card to play along with this week's CASology Cue Word: Rainbow.

 

I thought it would be fun because I could pull out my markers and color. :) And I was right. I used my new CTMH Cuddly Salutations stamp set which will be available August 1st for hostesses. Put together a little online "party", order a few things with some friends, and you are eligible for this cute, cute set! :)

I wonder if anyone will notice my little "mistake".  I just noticed as I was getting ready to type my post that I mixed up the order of the blue and green bird! I said ROY G BIV in my head a million times, BUT it probably didn't matter because I was deeply engrossed in a murder mystery television show. :D Now that I have noticed it, it's really staring at me! Oh well...

Thanks so much for stopping by to visit!

God Bless,
Mandy Pin It

Paper Smooches SPARKS and some watercoloring .....

Hello!

I'm surprised to be blogging today AND after a nice little quiet crafty session in my office. The kids have been playing outside with neighbors for a few hours and I'm almost lost! (ALMOST.) The weather is beeee-u-tiful so I plan to get back outside and do something, even if it's just read. I can't wait.

But I will share a card or two from my session first.

This week's challenge over on the SPARKS blog is a sketch:

 

 

Here is my card using the new Blossoming Buds stamp set from over at PaperSmooches.

 

 

 

After stamping the focal image in CTMH Bamboo ink, I used Hollyhock and Topiary reinkers dipped with a wet Fantastix stick to color in the flowers and leaves. I also dipped the pen onto PTI Hibiscus Burst and Simply Chartreuse inkpads (don't have those reinkers. Hmmmm....a new shopping list!)

 

I love how the watercolor looks with this image. I stamped the sentiment in Cocoa ink and then used second generation Chocolate ink for the little dots that randomly surround the image. I layered the panel over a scrap piece of patterned paper from remnants of my CTMH Dream Pop paper kit.

I used an already embossed piece of PTI Kraft cardstock for my backdrop because I liked how the floral looking pattern complemented the stamped image.

 

Enough about that!   --- Thanks for stopping by to visit!

 

God Bless,

Mandy

Pin It

Make It Monday #173

Hello!

I've been lacking in mojo and crafty free-time this week. We are winding the summer down here and preparing for Back to School. I'm super sad. I would really love a few more weeks and I know the kids would, as well. I never thought school would be exhausting even after I finished it myself! And, I'm going to miss those knuckleheads during the day. :( Sniff, sniff.

So, that being said, I haven't been as crafty or bloggy and that will probably continue until school actually starts back. And then I will need the therapy for sure!

Earlier this week, I did play along with the Make It Monday - No Outline Watercolor challenge. I watched that video laying on the couch one afternoon when I was down and done for the day and it really piqued my interests. I was so excited to see this approach and that it was something I could do with my supplies already on-hand.

I used my Garden Grace set (I think my only PTI set that has an outline only stamp) and I loved how it turned out!

 

I colored this with my CTMH reinkers, Topiary, Honey, Hollyhock, and Crystal Blue. I don't have a watercolor pen but I did have some of those little Fantastix sticks that I had bought many moons ago when I was a little nervous about Princess Avery coloring with my CTMH Blending pen. LOL. I considered these a cheap alternative and this week I was so glad that I still had them and that I had a good use for them. I just dipped them in water prior to dipping them in my reinker. It was a lot of fun to play with and I hope to do it more -- get a bit more practiced.

 

I stamped the sentiment using my Wet Paint III set and Onyx Black VersaFine ink. I layered it over a piece of Juicy Pear color Bazzil cardstock after I rounded the corners on the watercolor paper panel. A lot of fun. And I'm so glad, since it was almost all I managed to make up in my crafty space this week!

 

Thanks so much for stopping by to visit!

 

God Bless,

Mandy

Pin It

Paper Smooches Anything Goes

Hello!

I'm popping in to share a card I made when I had a short break night before last. The kids and I are having chill time this afternoon and a half-folded basket of laundry still awaits me. LOL. I'm not moving very fast on it! :) I started out ambitious, but now I'm just lazing around. I will admit -- it's kind of nice. And I think the kids are having fun. I sure am going to miss them in a couple weeks when they go back to school.

This time I'm playing along with Paper Smooches SPARKS challenge again. It's been a few weeks since I've played. And, I had a new set to experiment with.


I made this card using the Green Thumb stamp and die set from Paper Smooches.

I first stamped the "scene" from my PTI On The Farm stamp set. I colored up the stamps in CTMH Sky blue for, well, the sky and I used Desert Sand and Chocolate inks for the garden dirt. I have the Chocolate layer popped up using 3-D foam tape, so that the carrots can easily be tucked behind. I die cut, stamped and colored the carrots using my SN markers. I layered this panel over scrap pieces of my CTMH Dream Pop paper that was laying on my desk from another project. I stamped the sentiment from my PS Sentiment Sampler stamp set. I attached the Honey colored metal circle and sketched the yellow rays using my SN markers again. It was so much fun, I had to decorate the inside of the card to coordinate, as well. 8-)

 

I finished the inside off simply by outlining the sentiment panel with a black journaling pen. (I recently got a new one and it's been the best $2 or $3 I've spent in a long time!)

 

 

Thanks so much for stopping by to visit!

 

God Bless,

Mandy

 

 

 

Pin It

CASology Week #104

 

Hello!

I'm back! Or, at least, trying anyway. Ha! Last week, I spent a couple of days catching up around the house after our vacation and then a couple of days to "play" with the kiddos, and THEN we went back out of town for a couple of days! Phew. You know my books aren't going to read themselves and these crafty addictions aren't going to complete themselves! :) I need more time to "play"! :)

I definitely wanted to play along with CASology this week since the cue card is Pets! I love pets and I love animal stamps. LOVE!

 

 

 

I have been playing with my new stash of CTMH goodies I received this weekend while I was gone. I LOVE the new Cuddly Salutations stamp set that will be available with the new catalog August 1st for hostesses of parties. :) It's so cute. I made 3 little square cards last night which I intend to be part of a set and hope to share in a later post.

 

 

Here is my fun little card:

 

 

 

My card base is a piece of Soft Stone cardstock (PTI) and I used remnants of my Dream Pop CTMH paper from last summer. I never did do it justice so I'm pulling it out now determined to make some cute sets with it! I stamped the sentiment on patterned paper from the same set and trimmed it out. The birdie was stamped directly onto the panel and colored with Spectrum Noir markers. Since he's so tiny, I didn't get into shading but colored solid. I used a light gray marker to create his little shadow on the ground. I finished it off by outlining the accent panel with a journaling pen.

 

Thanks so much for stopping by!

 

God Bless,

Mandy



Pin It

CASology Week #103

 

Hello!

I have such a busy day going today (after getting back from a nice, relaxing vacation - why do we always have to kill ourselves catching up once we get back?! Seems counterproductive, doesn't it?), but I had to squeeze in one card this morning. I wanted to play along with CASology as soon as I had a chance and this is the first few moments I've had to get in my crafty space. Yikes!

This week's cue word is GLOW.

 

 

I had a stamp set that worked great! I've had this idea bouncing around in my head for a few weeks and now had the chance to put it to paper.

 

 

 

 

I used my gelatos, water spritzer, and finger to make the background on Distress Watercolor paper. I then stamped the bulb repeatedly upside down, masking each time. (Thanks to my Darling Daughter for cutting out the masks!) I drew the strings on with a journaling pen and colored in the hearts with my SN markers. Quite simple! This stamp set is Watts Up by Simon Says Stamp. 

 

I hope you like it! Thanks so much for stopping by to visit!

 

God Bless,

Mandy

 

 



Pin It

Crazy 4 Challenges #243

Hello!

Hope everyone is having a super-duper week. I am having a great time on vacay with the Fam. We have battled some rain and lower than planned temperatures (rendering me COLD in JULY in TENNESSEE! Whaaat?!), but it's still going well. Can't complain. (Well, I have - but it's been mild.)

I'm popping in quickly to share a card I made this past weekend when I should have been packing. I don't regret it though - I was in desperate need of the therapy! 8-)

I used my PTI On The Farm stamp set (one of the first PTI sets I bought and still near & dear to my heart) to play along with this week's Crazy 4 Challenges Color Challenge.

 

 

 

I used a Rustic White card base with Tulip and Pacifica CTMH inks.

 

 

 

 

 

As you can probably tell, I stamped the rooster in 1st, 2nd, and 3rd generation inks. I stamped the checkered border and the 100% Country first to have placement for the roosters. (Little known fact: Even though I'm not into a "country" decor, I have always liked the decorative roosters for a kitchen! I even have a ceramic one in ours. My mom thinks I'm crazy, but he's so cute. HA!)

 

This was super easy and fast! Hope you like it!

 

Thanks so much for stopping by to visit.

 

God Bless,

Mandy



Pin It

The Challenge #10 and Curtain Call

Hello!

Hope everyone is recovering adequately from their July 4th festivities. =) I, for one, am STILL exhausted and find that I really need a chiropractic adjustment! ha! I hope that doesn't make me sound like a partyer, because I am far from it. Far from it, I say! But all of our home projects last week combined with the marathon cleaning and then the feeding of the guests and subsequent cleaning (which included cleaning after a couple of CAT-astrophes!) have wore me out! I had to follow it up with laundry, laundry, laundry to pack for our vacation. Phew!

On to share my card!  I required a solitary crafty session Saturday after I spent the entire morning cleaning the kitchen. I made several cards I knew I could blog this week at night and keep me feeling connected to my crafty world. I'm hoping it helps curb the withdrawals. =0 Nerd alert!

This card is my favorite from Saturday's batch.

I used color inspiration from The Challenge and Curtain Call's Birthday Bash inspiration.



Since my birthday is Sunday, my baby sisters is Monday, and my Mommy's is one week later -- July means birthdays to me. So I'm always in a birthday mood in the summer.

Here is my card using my PTI Autumn Pattern Pieces stamp set and my coveted Wet Paint III:

 

 

I used CTMH's Sunset ink and PTI's Hibiscus Burst to stamp the banners and then used PTI's Simply Charteuse ink and water on an acrylic block to do my ink splashes in the center of my panel. I then stamped the sentiment before placing my panel over a PTI Kraft cardbase. I tied a matching piece of twine (The Twinery) to finish it off. 

 

Thanks so much for stopping by to visit!

 

God Bless,

Mandy

Pin It

Paper Smooches Anything Goes Week

Hello!

I'm popping in this morning in between slices of French Toast frying in the skillet! If you've read some of my other posts this week, you know the kids are home, of course, and Big Daddy is home on summer shutdown and I have been BUSY. Little to no free time. (He took them to a movie yesterday and I was too tired to do anything! HA!!! Oh the irony.)

I made a card earlier this week (the days are all a blur) and did some FUN paper piecing with the kitty cat (I'm a huge cat lover) from my  Paper Smooches Party Posse stamp set. It's "Anything Goes" week over at the SPARKS blog and I wanted to play along with a birthday card. I'm running a little low in my personal stash.



Here she is:

 

I stamped her several times using White PTI cardstock (eyes and ball on the hat) and on patterned paper from Teresa Collins 6x6 Summer Stories pad. It has some great soft pinks in it. Her body is pink polka dots, her ears and eyelids are a pink damask, and her hat is a yellow damask. I found it was easiest to stamp that teeny, tiny hat on white cardstock and then layer the colored part of the hat on top of the white piece. It was much sturdier! I finished by adding a little bling on her collar because a kitty that pretty needs a little frosting. LOL.

 

I did pull out my SN markers for her blue eyes and to ground her with a little gray shadow or ground underneath. Once she was all complete and glued down, I outlined her in a very light gray SN marker to highlight her and make her pop a little more.

 

Super fun. Took a little longer than a typical CAS card that looks like this, but it was quite relaxing and therapeutic! =)

 

Thanks so much for stopping by! I hope you like her!

 

God Bless,

Mandy

Pin It

CASology Week 102: Float & MUSE Challenge #74

 

Hello!

I'm really squeezing this in today! Big Daddy is insisting on mulching today. Yes, that's right. In 90 degree humid Middle TN heat. This is a spring or fall job to me, but it's his shutdown.

So when he ran back for another load I mumbled something about laundry going into the dryer and ran up to my room to make a card! LOL! I'm not sure if "desperate times" or "where there's a will" works better in this case. Since I was already tied up most of the weekend and yesterday planting trees and installing a new floor in our bedroom, I'm thinking "desperate times". =)

I played along with the new CASology challenge: FLOAT.

 

I knew this was a good excuse to use my Lawn Fawn "Float My Boat" stamp set. It's so cute and I love all the inspiring artwork I see made with this set, but always feel lacking when I ink it up myself. After seeing many examples of the PTI "On the Farm" stamp set this morning by their Senior DT challenge and reminding me of publications where the sunrise and hills stamp is used to create a scene, I knew this would work great with my LF set. I'm quite happy with how it turned out!

 

 

 

I used CTMH ink colors of Honey, Crystal Blue, Sky blue, and Indian Corn Blue to stamp the scene. Two of the ocean layers are trimmed out and popped up with foam tape. The boat is stamped with Outdoor Denim ink and paper pieced over the flag and sails. I hand drew the stitching around the edges of the panel using a Zig pen. It was super fast and that's good because Big Daddy is back with the second mulch load! =)

 

I am also entering this card in the current MUSE Challenge.

 

Here is this week's inspiration photo -- just makes you happy looking at it!

 

 

Thanks for stopping by!

 

God Bless,

Mandy

 





Pin It