Beautiful World - Sparkle

Welcome to November's Beautiful World Tour, brought to you by Flourishes! Each month the team presents a themed blog hop, hosted by our group of international designers... we are literally spread out all over the globe!  At the heart of our projects is the idea of truly showcasing beauty in card making – whether it just be in a beautifully colored image, a fabulous way to incorporate an embellishment or a new twist on a card layout.

 If you just happened on the blog hop today because you're a regular reader of my blog, and you'd like to view the entire hop, you can start back at the Flourishes Blog - you'll find a full list of participants there, and all the details you need. If you're already hopping and you arrived here from Kathy's blog, you're doing just fine.

This month our theme is the Beauty of Sparkle!

I chose to make my focal panel sparkle and shine by using shimmery paints! I stamped the peonies from the Garden Picks set several times on watercolor paper, then painted the panel with Twinkling H20s, which are a shimmery watercolor paint. After that layer was dry, I painted over the whole panel with Shimmerz paints, which are full of sparkly mica powder. It was fun working out the gradient color from yellow to deep orange.

The sentiment is from the Tag Lines set.

Leave comments for all our designers and you could WIN A FREE FLOURISHES STAMP SET!! Comments will be accepted until the end of the month, and a random comment will be chosen by one of our designers - but we're not telling which one! The more comments you leave, the better your chance of winning will be.


From here you'll be traveling on to Canada to visit the lovely and talented.........

Thanks for hopping with us today!

House Mouse Challenge Blog - 2nd anniversary!

I wanted to help the House Mouse Monday Challenge blog celebrate their 2nd birthday (Challenge #78), and I really tried my bestest to use their sketch..... but I could not get it to work for me. So here is the sketch... and my card... it has some "inspired elements" so maybe they will let me play anyway........
Use your imagination, ok........? This is the Wishin' Well stamp from House Mouse's Happy Hoppers line - the scene is watercolored with a variety of stuff... reinkers mixed with Shimmerz, markers, Twinkling H2os, and Derwent WC pencils. I think that was all..... (!) I sketched in lots of grass, inspired by the Shabby Tea Room's challenge (#27) to use natural elements, images, or green. I used Twinks on the coins so they're sparkly, and covered the jar with a clear Glaze pen (Sakura).

Oh right --- there is Flower Soft on the bunny tails... couldn't help myself!

Skipping Stones Sketch Challenge

So I'm hanging out at Skipping Stones for another month while some transitions are made in their design team! Here's a new sketch from PaperCrafts Go-To Gal Maren Benedict - she'll be bringing our challenges for the whole month. Quick drumroll before I go on.......... the winner of last week's drawing for the Timeless Textures set is: Sarah's Treasures! Please contact me with your mailing address so we can get your stamps in the mail to you. Congrats!

Here's this week's sketch, and my interpretation...

I flipped the sketch and switched a couple of layers... when I first saw the sketch all I could envision was hills and a sunset so I had to veer from that. I used paper doilies as an awning, and tucked the circle element in between the layers.
This embossed cardstock has been in my stash forever... The stamps I used are from the Healing Wings set - I curved the sentiment to follow the edge of the circle... I love how clear stamps can do that! The butterfly was stamped on watercolor paper with Brilliance Ice Blue ink, then watercolored with a combination of Shimmerz, Aegean Blue chalk ink, and Twinkling H20s. You can see the sparkles in the second photo. I made antennas out of embroidery floss, which was threaded through the button holes then stiffened with a bit of glue.

Remember that by participating in the SSD weekly challenge you can win $5 off your next purchase, a SSD winner badge for your blog, and maybe even an invite to become a guest designer or join the design team!

Hope you're having a great week!

Island sunset

I've had this image colored for a while - this is a stamp from Rubbernecker that I picked up at Stampfest 2 years ago (!?) when we were home on furlough...the image is called Palm Tree Morning. I painted it with Twinkling H2Os, and it ended up so bright that I wasn't sure what to do with it when I was done, so I tucked it away. Some layers of textured white cardstock ended up to be the perfect base. I scored the edges of the accent panel with my Scor-Pal. The sentiment is from The Angel Company. My finished card measures 4"x 8".

The angled shot in the sunlight shows off a little of the texture and sparkle.........

Love that little sentiment. Not even sure where I got it from.....ebay maybe? Ebay browsing is one of my greatest vices. Sigh.....

I'm savoring this scene, can you tell? I finally broke down and ordered 4th grade school books for the next year... I have been putting it off for months for fear of the import fees, but I can't wait any longer. 3 more weeks until we hit our stride again, with students arriving and life returning to crazy normalcy.

Sigh again... These lazy, reclusive days have been so nice.

Be Still

Here is another card using a set from my most recent DKdesigns release at smARTworks. This set has become a part of the Wistful Thinking full sheet - lots of good stuff on there!

The focal panel is a piece of watercolor paper I had played with for another project which involved misting the paper and mixing Twinkling H20s - it's pretty girly and shiny, which doesn't show well in the pictures... but anyway, it made a great background for this photo stamp. I trimmed the background into a square and rounded the corners. Using a Coluzzle nested square template, I cut out the inner rounded square as well.

My card is a gatefold card, 4-1/4" square. If you can picture the focal panel flipped over, there is double stick tape on the left half of the inside square (the ribbon is also attached with that tape), and double stick tape on the right half of the outer square.

The view below might make a little more sense than me trying to explain things...the ribbon comes up over the outer frame on the left, and that sort of 'locks' the card shut, in addition to the tie on the right.

This is a view of the inside of the card. The verse fits nicely in the corner of the inner panel, and is also designed to snug up next to the main image. I used the extension of the flourishes on the main image to embellish the corner, as well as the edges of the card front.

This fits with the Papertake Weekly Challenge to "do something different" - don't think I've ever made one of these cards before! Also, at Clearly Inspired Challenges sponsored by Clear Dollar Stamps the challenge is to "tie it up" with ribbon.

Be still - good message for me this week!

Impression Obsession DT Challenge: High school colors

Yaaaaaaay BLUE! Yaaaaaaaaaay WHITE! Yaaaaaaaaaay DRILLERS! FIGHT FIGHT FIGHT!!!

The Impression Obsession design team has challenged each other - and you - to make a card using your high school colors. Yep, I'm a Driller...."once a Driller, always a Driller," they say......

To be quite honest, Driller Blue is probably the color I use the least, so as a challenge, this one didn't come easy. I had decided on a nautical scene, and this was one in my collection - this is a section of Seaside Scene, which I stamped with Brilliance Mediterannean Blue Ink.... Not even sure how that inkpad got into my stash, or if I have ever actually used it before! I used watercolor paper and a single color of Twinkling H2Os to fill in the scene. The sentiment is called.... Thinking of You.

I wanted to combine this with another challenge, and completely coincidentally.... Ready-Steady-Stamp had this recipe challenge:

1. Sea

2. Blue, White/Cream, Brown & Black

3. Seashells

4. Oval

5. Sand

Heh heh....got all 5! I'd found these teeny shells for sale in town and the sand - local embellishment type stuff - and they fit in the depth of the oval Shake-It pouch. I grabbed a smattering of designer paper... LOL - yes, I still have 'that paper'!! If I'd had more stamping time this week I would have made matching DP with my Cover-a-Card stamps, but alas.....it was not to be.

Did you know that you can enter these challenges too, using your Impression Obsession stamps? See the I.O. blog for all the details - you might even win a $25 gift certificate!! Be sure to check out the rest of the team's cards for inspiration....links are over to the left!

smARTword - Monochrome

It was my turn to pick a word for the smARTword challenge this month and I chose MONOCHROMATIC. Coloring in monochrome really helps me to see an image in a different way - noticing shade and light rather than colors.

I normally reach for browns or black or occasionally olive green when I'm working in monochrome, so this time I decided to push myself a little - I chose to work in blues.

All stamps are from smARTworks. I stamped the dogwood image on watercolor paper, then trimmed around it with my Coluzzle circle template, skipping a few petals which I cut out by hand. The watercoloring was done with a combination of Twinkling H2Os, Derwent watercolor pencils, and pearlescent watercolors (you can get those at smARTworks, too).

I'm not sure where this handmade paper came from, but it worked perfectly. The printing on it is silver - that shows up better in the photo below. I added rhinestones to a few flower centers.

If you're not familiar with the smARTword challenge, you can visit the blog for more info! It's as simple as making a card or other stamped item inspired by the word of the month, then linking up your project. We'd love to have you join us!

Impression Obsession DT Challenge: Background Bonanza

We hope you'll join us for this week's challenge to use your background or Cover-a-Card stamps! I have been having lots of fun with mine, and it will probably be very obvious that at this point I have just 3 of them, and I can't wait for my next batch to come!


Cover-a-Card stamps are 5-3/4" square, so they make a perfect full background for a square or standard-size card. The Mega Mount, with it's slightly curved surface, makes them super easy to stamp. Man, I love that thing.


More green here...on my first card I used glossy cardstock and chalk inks to create a background panel with several layered colors. I swiped the cardstock with a light olive chalk ink first, stamped over it with CAC Tapestry 2, then stamped over it again with CAC Dots. After all the layers were dry, I sanded lightly across the card, horizontally and vertically..... I've seen this called a 'faux linen' technique. My focal piece is called Lemon Tea Cup. It has 3 layers, colored with Prismacolor pencils. The cup is popped with foam tape, and I painted in the 'tea' with Twinkling H2Os. The sentiment is called Sweet Things.


Card Number 2 - The same Tapestry background, but this time stamped in white on vellum. Confession time....... I didn't clean my stamp very thoroughly so my white ink has a slight green tint... hence... another green card. Not sure why my vellum layer warped either... I guess that's life in a tropical country. I grabbed a few scraps from my stash, and this double-layered butterfly which I watercolored ages ago. The quote is Live Your Days, and the butterfly can be found in the Lucky Ladybugs clear set.

Did you know that you can enter these challenges too, using your Impression Obsession stamps? See the I.O. blog for all the details - you might even win a $25 gift certificate!! Be sure to check out the rest of the team's cards for inspiration....links are over to the left!


Here are a few more backgrounds I made that haven't made their way onto cards yet - so at some point you'll see them again - either on a card or in a tutorial. These are all done on glossy cardstock, which has some interesting properties and is fun to play with.
OK - that's all I know today! Thanks for stopping by ---

Tea Party time - Salted Background

Welcome to the smARTworks design team Tea Party. Tea Parties are our version of challenges to each other, but you're welcome to join in the fun as well. Actually, this will be our last Tea Party for the summer, but we'll still be around...you may see us using smARTworks stamps at a forum or blog challenge near you! Three cheers for the team, and a great DT year. Happy summer!

Our challenge hostess, Donelda, challenged us all to use a salted background technique on our cards. I decided I wanted the salted part of my card to be water, so I chose this duck image to work with. I stamped the image and masked off the ducks with a liquid frisket (masking fluid), created a wash with Twinkling H2Os, applied rock salt, and left the piece overnight. The result was...not what I expected. I actually was using the back side of the watercolor paper which tends to resist water a little bit more, so some color that would have normally soaked into the paper stayed on the top. The salt soaks up moisture, and there was therefore more moisture to soak up! So...even though my piece was a little more blotchy than I would have liked, I decided to use it anyway. Sorry for the horrible photo...... Stamp sets used:
Duck Paddle
Being There
Farewell
Be sure to visit the other girls and leave them some love - links are to the left!

new new new!

Just wanted to share a couple of the new images now available from Heart & Soul Rubber Stamp Co. Sue has been creating inspirational and encouraging stamps for waaaaaay longer than I've known about her company, and she's got a huge collection of verses and sayings I just love, and that have been such a blessing to others. Her heart for the Lord shows through each image she creates.

How cute is this bloomin' kitty? This is some artwork that was purchased from an Etsy shop called Gingerbread Cat (I'm increasingly fascinated with Etsy), and it comes in 2 sizes, this being the smaller one. I stamped the cat in sepia ink and watercolored the image with Twinkling H2Os. I used a liquid mask (called a frisket) to mask the flowers and features, so they wouldn't get painted over. I love that stuff! I added a few gel pen highlights when everything was dry.

Here's a closer look - love those big round eyes...
On the next card I want you to see this sentiment - Sue created it just for me! I had been wanting this one for a long time to go with Fall stamps, snowflakes, comfy chairs, etc. I love it, and I love the way the words seem to be falling down as well. Thank you, Sue!

The chair is from Art Impressions and I paper-pieced it - reminds me of those comfy-but-just-a-little-scratchy chairs that Grandmas always seem to have, and it made me miss my Granny, especially the armrest covers, which she keeps neatly pinned to the chairs. This is cool too - I lined up the pleats and deeper parts of the chair on my Scor-Pal and scored along those lines to create a little visual dimension. It's hard to see in the picture, but it's pretty neat. I was impressed anyway! Shading is done with pencils, and that little flourish is from Impression Obsession. The wood paneling is a scrap from my paper stash - embossed by hand using a Fiskars texture plate.

Be sure to check out the Heart & Soul online catalog if you haven't done so...there are sooooooo many treasures packed into it. And when you can get any unmounted rubber stamp (any size) for only $1.50, precious stamping money goes a long way! Hope you enjoy what you see. Have a great week!!

Always the last one.....

I'm always the last one on the ODBD team to get new releases...it seems like my sets come just when the rest of the team is ready to show off the sets for the next month! It happened again...so I hope it was worth the wait! No matter when I show them to you...these sets will always be available for purchase, and will still be a blessing to those who receive cards made with them. Hope you enjoy these cards, made with "I Am the Way". I've been wanting to do some beading on a card - I thought the beads I had were smaller, but they weren't what I thought! Oh well. I stamped these lilies on a piece of cardstock that had been painted with Twinkling H2Os, then shaded in some areas with Prismacolor pencils. Here's a closer look:

The second card is similar to several cards I did around Christmas time. I found sheet music for an Easter Hymn on the internet and printed it on kraft cardstock. The lilies were stamped right over the music, then colored with Prismacolors. I added some white and gold gel pen dots in the flower centers, and used white chalk ink to edge the lilies and kraft panel.

You can see more detail below:

House Mouse Challenge

I sort of have a submission for the House Mouse challenge this week...! I tried to remember the sketch as best I could while someone else was using my computer...I got the main blocks right, but forgot the 3 embellies in the corner. Hope this is still ok! (I do have some mini rhinestones to the left, and I paid attention not to injure myself when I applied them...) It's also a horrible picture, and you can't even tell that the mouse is painted with Twinkling H2Os...he is super sparkly and very very happy on his sparkly grapes as well (and hidden behind the bow...!). DID YOU KNOW............that Luminarte, the company that makes Twinkling H2Os, is going out of business...? Sniff, sigh...love those paints...but they have their remaining products at 40% off, so stock up while they still have some left.

I need to go make some cucumber salad for our beach trip tomorrow...our coworkers have not yet adopted our Western idea of taking along finger foods and sandwiches and disposable dinnerware...so I comply, while my inner American stands in protest...LOL!

Happy Valentines Day!

Just a couple quick cards using Impression Obsession's cutie Heartlines set - love those little birdies, and what a fun saying - not just for V-day! The first card is colored with Prismacolor pencils - very simple. On the second card, the 4 hearts are embossed with some cute sparkly powder from Sparkle-n-Sprinkle...and watercolored using Twinkling H20s. While the paper was still wet I embossed the hearts from the backside using a bone folder (actually, maybe the scoring tool from my Scor-Pal...). **HINT - to do this - from the front side first outline the area you want to pop out with a stylus, then flip over your panel and emboss inside the outline you created. Put your cardstock or watercolor paper on a soft surface such as funfoam or a mousepad so you have some 'give' underneath.

Sadly, no romantic plans here for Saturday - we may have to make up for it later next week. We have 2 students with birthdays this weekend (one Friday, and one Saturday), and we offered to throw a party for them, so we'll have a houseful over for a Wii tournament, Sloppy Joe dinner, and some yummy chocolate cake, a new recipe I've already made once this week and am ready to make again! I'll share it if anyone wants...can't wait to eat some more...!

One more view so you can see the dimension a little bit. Finally, the goodies I made for the single girls on campus here who need a little extra love on Valentines Day...the little bags mostly follow these instructions here. The base measures just under 2"x2" and the bags are 4" high. Mini is always cute... There's a little bottle of lotion or shower gel in each one. I made use of some Valentine patterned paper and 'vintage' SU images for the cards...inside I stamped the verse from Philippians that says "I have you in my heart".