Grey Scale Shrooms

AI is over for my district now and that means my summer can officially begin. Besides hanging with my family this also means I have more time to craft. Something I was trying to do each night as way to wind down. Oh how I have been itching to craft more and yet when the time comes all I seem to do is push paper around. To coax my mojo back I started simple and pulled out Clear and Simple's set Fun Fungi and some cardstock that I had embossed and laying around (I believe it's PTI's Soft Stone).

Then I got stuck. And it sat. For a week. Should I add color. Just go mono. I ended up going simple and clear embossed the row of mushrooms onto light grey c/s and taped it down and then I took a die from PTI's Mat Stack collection and created the window. the mushroom and sentiment were stamped in DI's Iced Spruce. Once I was sure it was dry I carefully took my lightest warm tone copics and added some "color" to the image. I really like how those 'shrooms turned out too. This just may be a card for my sweet Grammy since she loves painting and stamping all things nature.

Easter stamp 3 ways

I wanted to play around with stamping one image three times and creating cards with it. I took this sweet little basket and Easter eggs images (two stamps) from WMS's stamp set Spring Baskets (you'll see more of it later this week). The images were stamped on vanillia, white, and kraft cardstock with a brown shade from Memento's ink line for the basket and black for the eggs. I colored them all with the same copic colors and really like how different the colors took to each cardstock color. The copic colors were: R81, 83, 85; YR20, 21, 23; G20, 21, 24, E31, 33, 35, W00, 01, 02, 03. What didn't show all that well in my pictures was the Spica Buttermilk Gitter pen on the circles on the yellow egg. I'm also using these for a DT call over at iCopic by usuing pink. For my first card I played with kraft paper. This is a color that use to scare me but now I'm loving. I kept the card rather simple (although I think I might go back and had some brown bling/pearls over the sentiment). I love how the colored image pops from the neutral background and that the colors are softer on the kraft. I kept the rest of the card monochromatic and added details through textures. I cut a slightly smaller kraft background and covered it with punched butterflies to give it an embossed look. I've seen this look around blog land and have been wanting to try it out myself; it actually easy and gives a great look to a project). The kraft strip was embossed using PTI's Linen Impression Plate (I so love this plate and it has a canvas side on the back). I then sponged the edges of each piece with Antique Linen and Vintage Photo Distress ink. Here is another card with the same image, only this time it's on vanillia. I kept this one rather simple and even altered the sketch a little (I was suppose to use a ribbon but just couldn't find something in my stash that worked). I used PTI's canvas side of my impresion plate to emboss the entire card base for a subtle look and used some old patterned paper for the strip behind the image. I layered the image over the the same colored scallop circle and all pieces were sponged with PTI's Vintage Touch ink and stamped the sentiment in Vintage Photo Distres Ink. This is my final card with this image on white cardstock. By the time I finished this one I discovered that I must have been in a CAS mood as none of my cards had much embellies on them, lol. I sponged the edged of every white c/s with Broken China Distress ink to soften the edges ever so slightly. The green strip has a layer of polka dot acetate and I added a little bling to either side of the sentiment (which was stamped in a grey ink). I do think the basket in this one was stamped in black ink too. Challenges used: Kraft card Clean & Simple - sketch One Stop Craft - monochromatic Flutter By Wednesday - open week, just use a butterlfy, angle, or fairy Creative Inspiration - Easter Vanilla card Card Patterns - sketch Stamp, Scrap, and Doodle - CAS Paper Cutz - use an image of a bunny, lamb, chick, or Easter eggs White card Get Sketchy - sketch Stamp Something - something sassy or with circles (I chose circles) Stampin' for the Weekend - Easter

Robins and Springtime

I don't see many Robins around my home, but I just love how they one of the symbols for Spring. And spring time is starting to make it's way to my home at the start of my Spring Break. For most, spring break means sleeping in; however, my youngest has taken it upon himself that 5:30 am is an excellent time to start waking up. Most of the time we can keep him down for another hout, but only if one of us is "sleeping" in his room. 6:30 am means wake up and play though. Mommy and Daddy aren't really digging this new wake-up call, and we're racking out brain trying to figure out what to do.

I am so excited that I have finally been able to play with one of my two new stamps sets I just bought from PTI. For this card I used Little Bitty Bird for my focus as a scraped background to give the background some texture. Since I had robins on my mind, I decided to turn one of the birds in this great set into a sweet little robin. Another thing that I've been playing with this weekend is stamping and coloring on some sticky back canvas. You have to be a little more careful with the copics, but I do love the results. I used Rich Cocoa Memento ink to stamp the words and images in before I started coloring. To help add some depth to my little bird I lightly outlined the wing and went over the eye as well. I created the sky but lightly sweeping different shade of blues and blue-greens around the bird/branch. The copics I used were E25, 27; R22, 24; G21, 24; BG0000, 10, 11; B0000, 000. I chose to soften the edges of everything with PTI's Vintage Touch. I also broke up sentiment in order to stack it and have it work better with the image. I added some twine to the stirp of brown that I embossed with Tim Holtz's wood folder and placed a little twine bow to give it a little something extra. The brads are used to completed my visual triangle the bird and bow started.

Challenges used:
PTI's Make it Mondays: distress - the patterned paper is crumpled and the edges have been sponged as well as roughed up
Papertrey Paper Dolls: have something that starts with PTI - p, patterned paper; t, twine/tree branch; i, ink
Crazy 4 Challenges: create a card with a tree (I hope my tree branch will count)
Sketch Saturday: sketch challenge

Papertrey Ink September Blog Hop

Things at work haven't slowed down, so I am having to spend an entire Saturday away from my family so that I can grade stacks of papers, write lesson plans, and complete several on-line work related activities. I'm not really happy about it, but it needs to get done now because I'm at the end of a grading period. Things just seem really off this year and I am not sure why. I've started praying a lot to God about if I really am doing what He wants me to do: teach. One of my problems is knowing how my Heavenly Father speaks to me, so I am also second guessing about whether or not what I am hearing is really from Him. DH and I being in debt isn't helping the problem either, nor is the fact that my oldest is in Pre-K, and I can't be room mom or go on field trips with his class or help out at his school. I am suppose to help teach a 2nd grade Sunday School class, but with everything hitting me I just don't think I have it in me to help out this Sunday so of course I feel guilty about that. To top it all off, I can feel myself starting to slip into my depression so I am trying to fight that at the same time. Blah! Nothing like a little chocolate to make you feel better right, lol.



Ok, enough about me and my issues. I know ya'll are really here to see my goods for the PTI blog hop and my YMH post. I decided to put together a cute little gift set (at least I think that's what you can call it). The challenge for the hop is to show off some skills that I am inspired by from other stampers. There are so many to choose from for me, but the latest inspiration I got was from PTI's own Lisa of Poppy Paperie. Her latest card with the Flutterby Friend's stamp set was just too cute. I loved how she combined the two greenary images and the placement of those littel butterflies. I decided to create a card with them but put my own twist of it. The other inspiration I get is from all of the wonderful copic colorers out there. I'm just a beginner, but I love to play with them and I have seen several recently where the images are stamped on colored cardstock and then colored. What a great twist for coloring and the results are really neat.

I don't have any of the trees from PTI, but I do have a really cute one from YMH that I thought would go perfect with this little outdoor theme I've created. To give it a little rustic look I used the cracked glass technique after I sponged the edges. It turned out perfect! I also decided to add some brown half pearls from YMH to the butterflies bodies to give them a little something extra. The lace and designer paper also came from YMH.

The butterfly is popped up on thicker foam while the tree image is on the thinner foam to fit over the lace.

I just loved the background I created on the card and the effect of the cracked glass with the image that I decided to create a little corner bookmark that I've been seeing lately. I used the same stamps from Flutterby Friend and the same cute little tree image so that it could be paired with the card. I added some faux stitching around the bookmark and used a border punch (not sure from who). This is my first time in making one of these, and I discovered that they were fairly use to make. I so see more of these in my future for my book loving friends.

These projects also fit several challenges:
Crafty Catz - stiching (on the bookmark)
Stamp Something - fall colors
Charisma Cards - anything goes
Creative Inspirations - 2 or more stamped images
Flutterby Challenges - all winged things
CARDvarks - CAS card
Copic Creations - shading on or around images (I did my shading on the images)
Unscripted Challenges - sketch (for the card)