crafting this and that

Hello!  Oh my goodness, I have finally used up my 2017 calendars.  Talk about some procrastination!  So, I knew I wanted to use the unicorn stamps from The Greeting Farm that came out last year but I never got around to actually completing this project.  I stamped them but never colored them and I thought I wanted to turn the calendars into shakers but that didn't quite work out how I wanted.  In the end, I went with just keeping it simple.  Here is the first one.  I can't keep the names of all these unicorn stamp sets straight anymore.  They are from The Greeting Farm and there are so many different ones!  The stitched rainbow and cloud dies are from My Favorite Things.  And it does take some time to cut out the rainbow colors so I did use a lot of cardstock for this.  But gotta say that after I was done, I loved it.  Here is the purple one.  Usually I stamp all my sentiments in black, sometimes in red and also go...

Hello!  Today is a seriously windy day here.  Amazing how the weather changes so much day to day even in the summer. I used a favorite TGF stamp of mine, Fairy Queen Anya for this card.  I think initially you had to refer someone who bought stamps to get this stamp!  So happy that TGF decided to release it as well.  I blended some clouds in the background before fussy cutting and gluing the image on.  I used the same sentiment from my previous post since it fit so well here too.  I wanted to color her wings in rainbow colors and added some Stickles glitter glue to the wings and her crown.  I also glued some purple flower confetti onto the card.  I initially thought the confetti would be too small to glue but actually totally manageable.  And I didn't get extra glue all over the card so that was a plus. Enjoy your summer days!  Thanks for stopping by!

Hello!  I finished up a bunch of cards over the weekend.  I had a few images colored up that were just sitting on my desk.  So I finally got them onto cards.  I think I need to use more of the stamps that I do have and stop buying new ones!  It's so tempting when I see all the cute new images though.  I have a bunch on my wish list but I think I need to wait.  Plus everything sure adds up when you throw yarn and fabric into the mix! Here's a card I made using TGF's Your Wings set.  I love the unicorns and the winged creatures (pegasus?) that TGF has created.  They are so pretty and fun to color.  I colored this one in pink and purple tones and added some stickles too.  I had intended to create rainbow clouds (which hopefully I'll get to do on another card) but instead created these pinkish purple clouds which totally matched the image.  A kind of happy accident.  I stamped the sentiment that came with the image...

Hello!  Hmm, I did not know what to title this post since I wanted to share different themed cards.  So, sorry about the weird post title.  Recently I got a new laser printer so I've been printing out some digital images to color.  It's like rediscovering all these cute images I've had stored on my computer. But before I share the cards with digital images, I thought I'd sneak this one in too.  It's another baby card similar to the ones in the previous post but gender neutral.  I like the cute duck!  Anyway, same details, image is from The Greeting Farm and sentiment from Papertrey Ink . I scrolled through my digi images and found all these Wryns by Tiddly Ink so I made this cute and simple Easter card.  Those little bunnies are irresistible! Then I colored up this one for Mother's Day.  It was so nice to color these images without worrying about smearing the black lines.  So I was happy.  That's it for now!  Th...

Hello!  I am sharing more baby cards today.  I've been wanting to use more of my kraft cardstock so thought this would be a nice use of them. I used the baby sets from The Greeting Farm for the baby bodysuit and tie.  I cut around the bodysuit and the tie for a little extra dimension instead of just stamping the tie onto the bodysuit.  On a side note, did you know onesie is a trademarked term by Gerber?  Kind of like Kleenex for tissue. The sentiment was made using PTI's Congrats All Ways .  This is a pretty versatile stamp set and has lots of occasions and different fonts too.  As always, I took my Copic microliner to fill in the sentiments and make them a bit darker and bolder. Here is the girl version.  The bodysuit is a little bit more frilly.  And a close up of the card. I am working on a bunch more cards and hoping to fill up my shop.  If only there really was more time in a day. Thanks so much for stopping by!...

EDITED TO ADD:  Sale is closed.  Thank you! Hello all!  I am clearing out my gently used TGF stamps.  It took me a few days to organize and go through everything.  I still love The Greeting Farm and I've actually put aside my favorites that I can't really part with but it's just too much.  I have too many stamps and it's just not that practical for me to hold on to them when I know I won't be able to use them. So here is how this sale will work. 1.  Sale is only for the USA.     2.  Prices are firm.  It took me a while to price these and I think they are fair. 3.  Shipping will be through USPS first class mail with tracking or priority mail. 4.  Shipping & handling costs will be paid for by the buyer.  I am thinking shipping will cost at the minimum $3. 5.  Payment will be made only through Paypal.  I will invoice you once all costs have been determined. 6.  All sales final.  Sorry, ...

Hello!  I was making some cards the other day using some distressed inks and thought I'd make one for TGF's (Spring Colors) latest challenge too.  I dug through my stamps and I think I have too many that I don't really use anymore.  I have to do some crafty cleaning.  Anyway, I thought these bunnies from TGF's Lucky Bunnies would fit well with some spring colors.  This is the old rubber stamp set so a little different than the clear stamp set when it was re-released. Here are the three bunnies and I thought about making 3 different cards with each one but figured the bunnies looked cuter keeping each other company.  I put together the sentiment with various Lawn Fawn alphabet and sentiment sets.  I was in a punny mood so that explains my sentiment. Here's another view.  I guess my spring colors are kind of bright and not very pastel-y.  I like bright!    Hope you're enjoying this Monday!  Thanks for dropping by! ...

Hello!  It's a totally dreary day today.  What happened to the sunshine?  And it's COLD!  Hoping the weather clears up this week. Lately I guess I've been in a challenge kind of mood cause I got a card done for TGF's Birthday Celebrations and MarkerPop's Anything Goes .  This is the first time I inked up Up Up Bean from TGF.  Well, that was a weird sentence -- 3 ups in a row!  I had a background done in distress ink watercolors but then decided not to use it after I placed her on a white background.  She looked so much better on the plain white since she is so colorful.  Yeah, I don't know why I used all the colors I did but she seems okay with all of them.  Around the border is Lil Inkers stitched rectangle die and the sentiment (heat embossed in gold) is from CC Designs.  Sequins from Doodlebug. Here's another view.  Totally love her cute look!  With all the my other hobbies and making just CAS cards, I have...

Hello!  Wow, so I made a card today to join in on a couple challenges!  Amazing, right?  The first challenge is TGF's Pinky Pink and the second is MarkerPOP's Bright Colors . Okay, so I had this little Glisten Bean from TGF colored up (with Copics) for a while now.  But I didn't know what to add her onto until this morning when I saw Splitcoaststamper's neat watercolor bokeh tutorial .  Mine is not so much bokeh but I wanted to try the white ink stencil over some watercolored distressed ink. I added Lawn Fawn's hello die cut in gold and some sequins.  I think it's pretty bright too! That's it for now.  I'll be back Friday for some new Sister Stamps!

Hello.  Surprised that it's me again?!  Well, it was nice to take a vacation this past week with both kids at summer camp, although I still had to work a little from home with everything being computerized nowadays... Anyhow, I made another birthday card, based on the last Card Patterns sketch .  And since it's a summer birthday, thought I'd make something for the Sunshine and Summertime Retro Fresh Challenge . So I don't even know the name of this stamp set, it's the Ian and Anya in their undies, that come with all the different outfits.  Colored the aloha shirt with unblended pencil...does it look like those inside out aloha shirts?  Actually tried inking the inverted scallop circle nestability, the mustard seed distress ink happened to match some yellow cardstock that I had (non-PTI, shocking, I know).  The hibiscus paper is something I got a really long time ago from probably one of the first Creating Keepsakes conventions I ever attended, I can'...

Hello.  Hope everyone had a nice Mother's Day.  Made a card this weekend to test out my Perfect Layers since they were generous enough to include me in their Brand Ambassador group.  I was actually thinking about getting these rulers years ago when I saw them on QVC (remember those marathon scrapbooking sales?)  But then scrapbooking fell by the wayside after about 4 months through my son's baby book. Anyhow, it's only two little layers on the main image, a 1/8th inch light blue border and a 1/16th inch dark blue border.  Baby steps for me.  I even forgot to take pictures of the whole process.  But it actually does make it quite easy to mat multiple layers.  I tend to be a little cockeyed when it comes to sticking things down straight so this helps to actually cut around the image. I decided to go with the monochromatic theme over at the  Greeting Farm's Farm Fresh Challenge .  Haven't participated in one of their challenges in a w...

Hello.  I made another card for the TGF Farm Fresh Challenge Monday Fun-Day #12  which was to use kraft cardstock, buttons and twine.  And I used the Deconstructed Sketch #31 , although I turned it sideways and moved the center rectangle over. Anyhow, here is the birthday card using Later Skater Ian.  Maybe he's still too young for a 41 year old's birthday card, but oh well.  (Maybe I should have added some gray to his hair).  Used some Tim Holtz paper (I always seem to use this paper pad for boy cards but everything matches so well); Papertrey ink kraft, rustic cream, and enchanted evening cardstock, buttons and sentiment.  The 41 is cut from some sizzix dies.  Tried to make his skin tone a little darker with E13 for some shadows at his hairline, but still can't quite get the hang of blending without going too crazy and coloring out of the lines either. Well, hopefully I can make 2 more Christmas cards before Christmas.  Eva gave me s...

Sorry, I don't have very original titles for my posts.  I'm just amazed that I have something to post.  Today is the start of "no homework" week for my son, which translates into less work for me as well...at least for today.  So I decided to make a boy card for the Farm Fresh Friday challenge . And I needed help from a sketch.  I just now discovered that Beate Johns has a list of challenge blogs on her sidebar so I happened to click on Sunday Sketch and Stamp and the latest Challenge #51 was up.  I think I should have scaled my card a little better since there seems to be a lot of blank space up top, oh well.  I added the eyelets on the left side, and now I remember why I don't really care for eyelets, I don't know how to attach them nicely!   I used a Basic Grey paper pack called Recess with PTI cardstock. I used one of the Tag-Its sentiments, and just punched out a 1 inch circle and added a twine bow.  Dylan is colore...

I tried something a little different for a birthday card. I found it modified here on the Dandelion Designs blog that was initially a card here . I used the Amazing Duo boy again. He was a nice size to fit this card that measures about 4 inches by 3.25 inches. I still haven't used the girl superhero yet (not many girl birthdays in the summer of the people I know). Anyhow, he was colored with pencils and baby oil...at some point I really need to learn shading. So far I found 2 bloggers that use color pencils here and here that look really nice. But I haven't really been able to practice a whole bunch since I'm usually so last minute trying to make a card. And hard core crafters, please don't cringe, but I even had to buy a card for an upcoming birthday because after making this one, it was getting to be too much work for me. Mainly to try to get it in the mail on time. I guess I should plan ahead and try to make a whole bunch of cards beforehand so I always...

Woo hoo, it's a record 2 posts for me so far this week and it's only Wednesday! I don't think it's going to happen again anytime soon though. But I actually made a second birthday card! I figured I better get to using all the new stamps that I ordered. This one is from the Amazing Duo set from The Greeting Farm. I actually colored this one first, which is when I realized that I have to color the skin before the hair otherwise I'll smudge black onto the face! I don't know why his superhero outfit is so colorful...I was trying to find pencils that matched all the little circles and then ended up using every color! The birthday paper and matching cardstock is from a birthday paper pack from Die Cuts with a View from I don't know how long ago. The number is from the Sizzix font set Round-a-bout, it has actually come in handy a few times. I'm not sure where I got the ribbon from...I'm such a collector, it might have come off some packaging of something el...

I actually made a card! Two cards even! But I'm saving the 2nd one for later otherwise I'll have nothing else to post! So a pretty simple birthday card. I mostly wanted to use my new Greeting Farm stamp, Skater Ian, that I got from the Die Cuts R Us sale. He's colored with pencils and baby oil. I basically picked random colors without even looking at paper. I can see why it would help to plan ahead. Or to find some card sketches before hand too, but oh well, hopefully now I can just get it in the mail on time. Anyhow, I was thinking I could somehow make a skate ramp, but ended up just using an oval instead. (It would help if I got all the pieces together before sticking things down too, argh!). I actually got to use some of my toys, I mean tools. Like the edge distresser, although next time I think I'm going to try inking those edges. And my crop-a-dile with the extra large eyelets from We R Memory Keepers. These eyelets actually set a lot better. I had some other brand...

Happy Furlough Friday!  Actually, it's not a "happy" time when your kids don't get to go to school cause the state doesn't have enough money.  My daughter had a 3 day school week this week.  There is something really wrong with that.  Back to my post--here is a picture of my son's graduating preschool class as represented by TGF stamps.  Stuck a picture of my daughter in there too.  Can you guess which one she is?  So, obviously I don't have a lot of boy TGF stamps.  The only other one I have is Edward, and really he shouldn't be allowed to go to preschool.  I made these to tie onto a little goody bag for each of the kids as the school year is coming to an end and they will all be going to kindergarten soon.  I stamped their names using Simple Alphabet from PTI but blurred it in the photo to protect the innocent.  This is the back side of the boys' tags.  I felt I had to cover up the back cause of the pen showing through....