Let's utilize our "nail art"!!!!!!!!!!!!

This past weekend I started working on this birthday card for a dear friend who's birthday is this month and I decided that I would use the "Precious Moments" font to do her name (Marti). I did this in Photoshop and actually decided to go ahead and color it with Photoshop as well! I actually had colored the "letters" with a lavender color but after I printed it out I did not like it and decided to go over it with a glitter pen. I discovered that I did not have a glitter pen that was the right color so I wound up using my red Beifa glitter pen....mixed with the lavender it became a really pretty reddish purple color that went well with the Wausau cardstock!!! I also used one of my Neopiko markers to color the cheeks and the Bunny's ear. Well now, here comes the "nail art"!!! While using the glitter pen I made a couple of "boo boos" and instead of starting all over I decided to use some stickers to cover my mistakes (they were really small, but to me showed up big time!) and I really did not have any that were small enough and while going through my drawer I came across some "nail art stickers" that I had purchased some time ago from Walmart and they were tiny and they worked out perfectly. I then decided that I liked them so well that I would use some on each letter and then used some at the top left of the card to "balance it out". Needless to say, I will be going by Walmart this week to see if I can find some more "nail art stickers" to stock up on!!!!


I also want to add that the tiny strips of cardstock that I used as embellishments were cut using my Pazzles "Inspiration Creative Cutter". I love how they cut so evenly using it,, as I could never attempt to get them that even with my paper trimmer!!! The "Happy Birthday" was done using Photoshop and the "CAC Lasko Condensed" font and printed on my inkjet. Another thing that I want to mention is that in my photo the dark cardstock almost looks black but it's actually almost a purple/burgundy color called "Sparkling Merlot" and it has a beautiful golden sheen to it that I was unable to capture with my camera.
Finished Card Size: A2/4.25”x5.5"


Supplies

Papers: Neenah White CS, GA Pacific White CS (card base) and "Sparkling Merlot" Metallic Cardstock by Wausau Paper
Tools: Pazzles "Inspiration Creative Cutter", Martha Stewart "Arch Lattice" Border Punch and the EK Success "Morocco Lace" Border Punch
Accessories: Nailene "Bedazzle Rhinestone Nail Art", Neopilo marker (Y504) and blender, Marvy Uchida "White Liquid Applique" (on Bunny's tail) and Beifa "Red Glitter" pen

WOW, this has been the most enjoyable crafting weekend........................

that I've had in months. I've only completed two cards, but I've got another project in the works too! I do think that maybe my "mojo" is coming home!!!! A little earlier today, I was checking out the Splitcoast Stampers "Gallery" and I came across a "hinged" card made by Wendy (aka/Wendybell @ SCS) and she has a fantastic video on how to make it...if you are interested in checking out her video, you can find it here! Well, here is my version of it and I had a blast working on it!!!


Here is a view of it opened up....I've not yet added the wording on the inside, as I will do that when I decide who I going to send it to!




The beautiful crocheted flower was made by my friend Teri's (tlfrank at SCS) mom. Teri was kind enough to send me some and I really treasure them....this is the first time I've used one of them. You know....I think I might be a "hoarder"!!! Here is a close-up of it.


Some time back I bought a "Bow Easy" from Sharon at "No Time to Stamp" blogspot. At here site she has a tutorial on how to use it and if you would like to purchase one and see her tutorial, you can see it here. I made my gingham bow using my "Bow Easy" and here is a close-up of it.


This was fun and thanks for stopping by!!!
Finished Card Size: A2/4.25"x5.5"

Supplies

Papers: GA Pacific (white CS base), Core'dinations ColorCore Cardstock (gray textured CS), Wausau Paper "Smooth Finish" (lavender CS) and Me & My Big Ideas Specialty Cardstock "Parisian Flourish" designer paper (PADX-18)
Stamps: Studio G (sentiment)
Inks: Tsukineko Brilliance "Pearlescent Purple" & "Victorian Violet"
Tools: Pazzles "Inspiration Creative Cutter" and Provo Craft "Cuttlebug"
Accessories: Provo Craft "Swiss Dots" embossing folder, Recollections "Pearl Stickers", EK Success "Victorian Lace" Paper Shaperss Corner Adorner, Martha Stewart "Branch" punch, Fiskars "Lace" Border Punch, Spare Parts "Brad", "Bow Easy" and Michael's Basic Basic "Gingham Ribbon"

Let's do a little quilling....................

I had some very special company come to my house on July 27th........my son, his wife and my two adorable little grandsons! They were with me for almost a week and then a week ago today, they headed home, to Alabama. I miss them so much, but they sure can wear out their "Nana"! I guess I'm not as young as I sometimes think I am!!!

At any rate, while they were here Splitcoast Stampers had a "Quilling" challenge for the "Try a New Technique" (TLC231) and I had wanted to participate, but did not have time and then this week I really liked the "Card Sketches" challenge, so late last night I decided to combine the two and this is what I came up with.


The quilled butterfly and flowers were some that I had made some time back when learning how to quill and I had them in a box to use as embellishments when needed and I had actually forgotten about them. During that time I had made a quilled project that I gave to a friend as a birthday gift. Here's a photo of it....I actually put it in a "showdow box" prior to giving it to her.


When making the "Thank You" card, I decided to use some cardstock from the Core'dinations "Whitewash Collection". I am on the Pazzles Design Team and we are supposed to incorporate some of this cardstock into our projects for this month, so I figured this would be a good chance for me to play with it prior to doing that....and I love it! I used it for the two inner panels and then ran them through my Cuttlebug using the "Perfectly Paisley" embossing folder. I also used a "nail buffer" to sand them afterward. With that cardstock there is an inner core that shows through when you "sand" and in this case it was a blue color that was similar to the blue than I used in the quilled butterfly! Don't you just love that effect?!!

Finished Card Size: A2/4.25”x5.5"

Supplies

Papers: Westrim Crafts (Black CS), Core'dinations CorlorCore Cardstock and DCWV "The Pocket full of Posies Stack" (Designer CS)
Stamps: Studio G (sentiment)
Inks: Tsukineko Brilliance "Victorian Violet" and Memento "Tuxedo Black"
Tools: Pazzles "Inspiration Creative Cutter" and Provo Craft "Cuttlebug"
Accessories: Provo Craft Cuttlebug "Perfectly Paisley" embossing folder, Spellbinders Nestabilities "Lables 4", Recollections "Pearl Stickers" and Target Ribbon

Triple Squares

Hey there! I'm finally getting a chance to do today's sketch challenge (SC238) at Splitcoast....it looked like a really good one. I decided to make mine a birthday card as I have several friends and relatives that have birthdays coming up! This also gave me a chance to use some of my new "toys", like one of the Cuttlebug "Vintage" dies and the EK Success "edger punch". I also used one of my stamps that I've never used before....the tiny butterfly! I also want to point out the white flower which was cut using my Pazzles "Inspiration Creative Cutter" and a cutting file designed by my friend Teri (aka/tlfrank at the Splitcoast Stampers site). Thanks for the file Teri!!! Most of the panels, plus the "corner" treatment (which was designed by me) for this card was cut with my "Inspiration". The sentiment was done in Photoshop, using the "TXT LongHand" font and printed on the Bazzill using my Canon PIXMA MP530. It's the first time I've used this font as I did not even know I had it and I have no idea where I got it from, but I like it!!! This was fun and I hope you like it!

Supplies

Papers: DCWV "the All Dressed Up stack" (Green Glittered DP), Bazzill (white panel), Westrim Crafts black cardstock, Worldwin Papers "Sparkling Papers" (jewel toned mica coated paper center white flower) and Royal Brites
Stamps: "Lotus Greeting Stamps" by Amy Butler for K & Company
Ink: VersaMark "Watermark" by Tsukineko
Embossing Powders: Stamp-n-Stuff "Star Dust Transparent" and Adirondack "Moss"
Tools: Pazzles "Inspiration Creative Cutter", Cuttlebug, Ranger "Heat It"
Accessories: Provo Craft Cuttlebug "Vintage" die, EK Success border punch, "Crystal" Stickles, Swarvoski "Crystal Beads" and glittered white brads (I think they are by Spare Parts)

Here's the Stationery Box that I made for Merrylene.....

back in May for her birthday. I got all my ideas for this project here! This next photo shows the box opened up. As you can see, I made a few changes, such adding an Address Book, a Note Pad and some Mailing Labels. I also glued the inner flap and added a decorative border.


Here are closeups of the Address Book and the inner pages of it and the Note Pad. I designed the inner pages using Photoshop and then did a "Print and Cut" using my Pazzles "Inspiration Creative Cutter".



And here are close-up photos of the six cards that I included with the box.



This project was fun, but it was also a lot of work, but it was worth it to be able to give it to Merrylene as a gift. By the way, she loved it!!!


Supplies

Papers: Bazzill and "Wild Asparagus" (all of the designer papers) by My Mind's Eye
Stamps: Anna Griffin "Flourishes Set 3" and Martha Stewart "Monogram and Frame Stamps"
Ink: "VersaMark Watermark" by Tsukiniko
Embossing Powder: Stamp-n-Stuff "Detail Clear Transparent"
Tools: Pazzles "Inspiration Creative Cutter", Zutter "Bind-It-All", Provo Craft "Cuttlebug", and "Scor-Pal"
Accessories: Fiskars "Sunburst" Border Punch, Ranger "Liquid Pearls", Tim Holtz "Distress Inks", Mark Richards "Crystal Stickers Pearls", Offray Ribbons, Spellbinders "Nestabilities", The Robbins Nest "Clear Dew Drops" (I colored them brown using Bic Marker), Bride's Flowers by Gartner Studios (purchased at Michael's and altered by me using a tiny paint brush and water color pencils)

I'm finally getting some of my "Mojo" back!

A very special friend of mine had a birthday yesterday and thanks to Lynn's Splitcoast Stampers "Try a New Technique" challenge for this past Monday, I was able to come up with a design for her birthday card. If you would like to check out the challenge, which is called "Stand Up Card" (TLC228), you can find the information here. This card design was introduced by Penny Wessenauer.....thanks for a lovely design Penny!



As most of you know, I have a Pazzles "Inspiration Creative Cutter" and serve on their design team as well. The other day I was playing around with label designs.....like the Nestabilities and came up with the label that's on my card design. I used my PI to cut what I call "Next Besties" (saw this somewhere online while surfing the net) out of acrylic and then I cut larger pieces out of card stock, used double-stick tape to adhere them to the acrylic and ran them through my Cuttlebug and got the same effect that you get when using the Nestabilities, which I own quite a number of. It worked like a charm! I used my Funtime software to design the borders which I cut using my Craft Robo...it's also a digital cutter.

I want to add some notes here regarding the Canson metallic papers that I used. The "Galvanized" is silver but in my photos it kind of looks blue...sorry but this sucker was difficult to photograph. Also, the "Iced Gold", as Canson calls it, is actually like a metallic white. They are really lovely papers, but difficult to capture in a photo!

I used Photoshop to do the card's inside and the font I used is "LD Hallmark".



Here, I've included some close-ups of my card:



Finished Card Size: A2/4.25"x5.5"



Supplies

Papers: Bazzill Bling and Effects Papercraft "Galvanized", "Gold Leaf" and "Iced Gold" by Canson
Stamps: Lotus Greeting Stamps by Amy Butler for K & Company
Inks: VersaMark Watermark by Tsukineko
Embossing Powders: "Super Fine Detail Gold" by Ranger
Tools: Gold "Peel-Offs Stickers" by the Paper Studio, Silver & Glitter "Peel-Offs" by Mark Richards, Swarovski Crystal Bead, Martha Stewart "Pearls", Michael's Gold & Silver Beads, Anna Griffin "Gold Rectangle Label Holder" and "Gold Brads" and Offray Ribbon

Hopefully I will be active here again!!!

I just want you all to know that I was able to spend an evening with Merrylene (SIL that was in the horrible accident) this past Saturday. It had been several weeks since I had seen her because Cecil and I had both been sick with chest colds and would not take a chance of passing it on to her. I have to tell you that she is looking and feeling so much better. She actually seems like her old self and that has made our family and me so happy! She is still unable to walk as the doctors don't yet want her to put weight on the leg that was broken in the accident (compound fracture), but it's coming! Once again, I want to thank everyone for their prayers and concerns for Merrylene!!!

I also want to add here that I going to get back to my cardmaking. All along, I have been doing my projects for Pazzles, as I'm on their design team, but just about all other crafting had been pushed aside, plus my creativity went way down...................but now I'm back!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

I want to wish you all a very happy 4th of July!!!!!!!!