Still Life

Doesn't it feel good to get back to your stamping when you've been missing it for a while?  I've been popping into my room little bits at a time.  It may take a while to finish a card or two, but they eventually get done, and then one day they get photographed and up on the blog to share with all my stamping friends.  No pressure.  Just having fun.

Today I have an arrangement of watercolored and fussy cut vases.

I'm not sure how I feel about this card.  It's flowers, but somewhat different.  I like the layout, the semi-tall shape, the wood grain, but there were a few foibles and challenges.

First, I'll tell you it's a digital stamp set from DotBStamp called Floral Vase Fussy Cut.  I took that name literally and printed the whole sheet and fussy cut.  There are two more images waiting to be colored.  Another thing I'll tell you is, good heavens, the artist's samples are gorgeous.  Maybe if it was printed no-line style... I don't know... she's pretty amazing.  I almost wish I'd never seen her samples.

Okay, let's talk...  I used Gansai Tambi paints for the watercoloring.  Sometimes I like them, sometimes I don't.  I was not having an easy time with them in this instance, but I persevered.  I think the part that turned out best is the brown flower centers of the teacup flowers, and I did that with Tombow markers.  I was so ready to be done with this in the end!

See the next photo and then we'll talk some more.

Hmmm... the digital illustration of the tall vase had no water line, so I was left to paint it in on my own.  Hahahaha!  Well, you can see how that turned out.  Looks like there was an earthquake in progress.  Also, the glass vase is obviously transparent, and that posed another challenge.  Am I making this too hard?  Getting everything arranged to fit, tucked in, and glued down was much trickier than it sounds in the retelling, and then I still had to paint over the vase so the table top showed through, but diffused by the water.  Oh, and I added shading around the images after they were glued down.

All that said, I like this digi set and I love some of her other flowers even more.  I do plan to shop there again.  As I mentioned, I have two more images from this set already printed and will color them later, probably with inks next time.  Stamping is an adventure and I hope you enjoyed going along on this one with me.  Take care!

Halloween Fun

Halloween -- love it or hate it -- in my world it's all grins and giggling children, bright colors, and cute cards.  My friend shared a whole bunch of Halloween stamps with me recently and I hope to color several before mail time.  This witch by Judith is one of my favorites:

Long and lean and not so mean, I just love her!  She's colored with Copics and cheerfully sparkled.  Used my Poppystamps Spider Banner for the first time and an oft-used Taylored Expressions Ric Rac Border.  A bit of ancient designer paper.  The sentiment is an oldie from Whipper Snapper.

Next is a Penny Black Stamp.  I don't know the name of it, but I'm pretty sure it's an oldie.  I made a scene with some dies and an embossing folder.

Darice Star Border embossing folder on Core'dinations card stock, sanded to bring out the pattern.  Moon and stars are cut from glitter paper which sparkles nicely in real life.  Another oldie Whipper Snapper sentiment.

Well, that was fun!  I'll come back Friday with flowers, but I hope you got a grin today.  Till then...

Goldens and Garden

Hello!  I'm on Goldens and Garden today.  Thank you!

Honey Bees and Mintay

Pardon me while I play with my Mintay papers again.

I'm having the most fun making use of these beautiful papers in the Farm Life pad and finding stamps that work well with them.  In this case I pulled out my not-yet-used Bee Kind Toile set from Power Poppy, along with another sheet of the same design I used in my previous card.

I wanted to use every pretty detail of the paper, so I cut around the images and glued them to a frame with a circle opening.  This way I could move them closer together for this 5" card and let the design overlap the window.

Before gluing down the Mintay cut outs, I placed the frame on my stamping paper and traced a light pencil line to mark where the window would be.  Then it was a matter of positioning the stamps in relation to the window and the Mintay cut outs.  I did not adhere the Mintay cut outs to the frame until I was certain of the layout.

It was a treat watching everything come to life as I Copic colored the cute honey hive cake and the buzzing bees.  I off-stamped the honey comb once so it would be lighter in color.  Added Stickles sparkle to the honey.  Popped up the frame and the front was done.

Inside I stamped a birthday sentiment and decorated with the last floral cut out from the Mintay paper and a border trimmed from the flip side of the same sheet.

Love this craft of ours!  Again... that's why I call it playing in my room.  Don't we have fun?  Have a happy day!

Wrapping up the Trip

It's Saturday!  Sharing on Goldens and Garden today.  Thank you!

Power Poppy--Mintay Fusion

Hello, friends!  We've reached Flowerful Friday again and I have a very flowerful card to share.  I mentioned in an earlier post that I have five new Mintay 6x6 designer paper pads.  Oh, my word, I can't stop looking at them.  Probably my favorite of the five will be whichever I'm working with at the time and today it's the collection called "Farm Life".

As is so often the case, many of the papers are too pretty to cut down or cover up, but I bought them to use, rather than hoard, so I must figure a way to work this out.  Looking at this particular piece, an idea sprang to mind.

Gee, I hope it won't be my only idea.  Luckily, there are four sheets of each double sided design, so it wasn't too painful to slice off the top four inches of this one.  The card base is 4 1/4 x 6, so I was able to use all but 1/4" of the sheet crosswise.  Power Poppy's "Go Wild" pitcher of fresh picked roses and strawberries was stamped directly onto the sheet and colored with Copics.  It's nestled in as though it was mean to be.

The sentiment flag shows the flip side of this sheet.  The stitching helps frame it up, and I added the Copic-colored leaf die cut for additional dimension and grounding of the image.

I've already started playing with more Mintay and Power Poppy, but the idea hasn't yet come to fruition, and by the time you read this I might be camping again.  Maybe I've got my coloring with me...  Have a happy day!

Double D Challenge: The Moon and the Stars

It's the third Wednesday of the month and that means it's time to pop in with another Double D challenge.  This time we're doing The Moon and the Stars.  Well, that worked out just fine for me because I had a not-yet-used stamp that fit the mood board perfectly.

Check out the mood board -- lower left with the moon hanging over the water.  Reminds me of camping, sigh... wish I was there.

Creative winners are voted on by the team, plus there's a random prize.  This Filigree Moon die set will make some mighty pretty cards:

The sentiments/quotes in this set are what caused it to jump into my basket.  I've used them on other cards, but first time for the raccoon in the moonlight scene.  Now that I've colored it, I think it's pretty cute.  My card is rather masculine in appearance, yet if the look of it appeals to me, would it not appeal to another female, as well?  I hope so because it will probably go to a girlfriend.

The stamp set is Inky Antic's Moonlight Raccoon, and the designer paper is Bo Bunny Camp-a-Lot.  I pieced and stitched some scraps and added Bo Bunny Matte Sprinkles to the finished card.  Coloring was done with Copics.

I just know you have a card idea that would be great for our Moon and Stars challenge.  Play along with us!

I'm glad you could stop by.  I'll be back on Friday with flowers.  See you soon!

Oh, What Fun!

Welcome to Monday, friends!  I've been waiting since last Christmas to use this stamp set and the stitched mountains.  Well, it was time to get a couple more Christmas cards made, so here it is.

Whimsy Stamps "Oh What Fun" clear set, Poppystamps Stitched Majestic Mountains and Stitched Landscapes.  Very quick, loose, cartoonish watercoloring with Tombow markers.  It didn't occur to me till I started to stamp that Santa has no reindeer, so I guess we'll just figure he's testing the load and will hitch up later.

The second card has some masking to create the scene.  Lil' Inker Silly Stitched Die Set and Lawn Fawn Stitched Snowflakes.

I have a long way to go yet with the Christmas cards, sigh... little by little.  Challenges have been helping, and today I'm playing along with the new Merry Little Christmas Challenge -- always anything goes as long as it's Christmas.  Thanks, girls!  May your day be filled with happy!

Saturday on Goldens and Garden

It's Saturday so I'm on Goldens and Garden.  Come visit!

Hope Blooms

Finally, some flowers!  You know how I love them and these are very special flowers, indeed.  These digital Peonies were illustrated specifically for stampers by my friend, Maria's, 20 year old granddaughter.  Vanessa is an accomplished artist, but this is her first offering for stampers, and I'm hoping to see more.

You know me... I'm a digi fan because I love to color.  They're economical, instantly available, take up no space in your stamp room.  They can be resized, flipped, cropped, played with in a nearly infinite number of ways.  Sometimes I think I'd be happy going all digi, but I'm hooked on this stamping thing and all forms catch my eye and end up in my collection.  It's endless!

I watercolored these flowers with Tombow markers on Arches 140 lb hot pressed watercolor paper.  Red and a reddish-purple on the blooms, amethyst and that same reddish-purple in the background.  The stamped sentiment is from a years old Whipper Snapper set.

I watercolored the die cut bow, too.   The frame was die cut and then embossed with a Cuttlebug folder.  It was a perfect fit and, gee, the lighting was just right for the embossed pattern to show in the photo.

Check out the Peonies digital stamp here.  I'm keeping an eye on that girl!  All supplies are listed below.

Thanks for visiting with me this week.  I'm still stamping and coloring, so I'll be back next week.  Have a happy day!

Stamps:  Peonies digital stamp, Whipper Snapper Blooming Expressions  Paper:  Arches 140 lb hot pressed watercolor, Stampin' Up! heavy weight Very Vanilla, Bazzill green card stock base  Ink:  Printer, Memento Tuxedo black for sentiment, Tombow markers for watercoloring  Accessories:  Memory Box Oval Master Frame, Poppystamps Lovely Gift Bow, Cuttlebug Heritage Collection embossing folder

Teapot Border

Hello again!  Just one card today.  I started this one before vacation and finished it when we returned home.  Its whole reason for being was so I could use the pretty new die I received as a gift from a very sweet friend.  Not sure what it's called.  I think it's one of the unbranded dies.  Whatever, I have a weakness for all things swirly.

I cut it in such a way that it makes an intact flap on the card front, but it could be cut as a separate border, too.  Embossed using the tan mat after cutting, I touched up the embossed parts with a Copic BG0000 marker, which helped bring out the white on white pattern.

The cute Stampendous Teapot Border has survived many purges because I still adore it after all these years.  The swirls in both the stamp and the die cut look like they were made for each other, and the Power Poppy sentiment fit perfectly.  Polka dot hearts in matching colors add a little love to the design.

Vacations are wonderful, but I sure get to missing my stamp room.  I'm having fun now!  I'll be back Friday with flowers.  Hugs to all!

Quick and Cute to Warm Up the Mojo

My computer is back and all is well.  Let the happy dancing begin!

Today I have two less not-yet-colored digis in the box -- my first stamp room visit since returning from vacation.  I needed something quick and easy to get back into the swing of things and Bugaboo always helps with that.  Fun images, cheerful, colorful... a little something for Monday Fun Day.

The first is called "Birdhouses".  Designer paper from my vast hoard, a touch of glitter on the bugs, Copic coloring.  Lil' Inker Silly Stitched Die Set and Memory Box Stitched Circle Layers.  A twine bow and a heart, both from my scrap drawer.  Actually, the heart was just laying on my stamp desk.  Now the stamp desk is tidy and the heart found a home.

The next one is called "Beauty Butterfly".  The sentiment is a nice thought, isn't it?  I arranged the images for a CAS card, added punched flowers with die cut leaves and pearl centers.  Taylored Expressions Stitched Rectangle Stacklets and Cheery Lynn Dutch Daisy frame.

Wink of Stella on the butterfly wings.

I always have big plans for spending time in my happy place, coloring and designing lots, loving all my wonderful supplies... but the hoard continues to grow.  I just ordered five new designer paper pads -- I know!  But they're Mintay and I love them so much.  Waiting for their arrival, but in the meantime I'll pop in Wednesday with a new die I received as a gift, and Friday I'll be here with a brand new flower digi.

All it took was a couple of little Bugaboos to get me going again.  Have a happy day!

Stamping Next Week, Goldens and Garden Today

Stamping has happened at last and I'll be sharing plenty of that next week, but today I'm on Goldens and Garden.  Trying, once again, for Saturday posts there.  Come visit!