Silhouette Horse

This weeks challenge over at FireCracker Designs by Pamela is to do a Halloween card or use Halloween colors. As I am featuring a Horses of Courses set this month, I decided to go with the Halloween colors of orange and black. I believe that any stamp with great lines such as this horse can easily double as a silhouette stamp by just coloring it all black!

I used the brayered sky technique for my sunset starting with Summer Sun, Tangerine Tango, then Really Rust but I wanted it a bit more of a reddish orange so I added a bit of Riding Hood Red at the top. I stamped the horse and sponged black at the bottom. I let the ink dry for a bit and then colored the horse in all black with a Copic marker. I added a few white highlights with a white Prismacolor pencil to give him some life.

Stamps: Firecracker Designs by Pamela Horses of Courses
Paper: Basic Black, Whisper White, Tangerine Tango, Summer Sun
Ink: Summer Sun, Tangerine Tango, Really Rust, Riding Hood Red
Accessories: black Copic, white Prismacolor pencil, ribbon from Michael’s, clip from Hobby Lobby

Enjoy!
Michelle B.
“Queen of the Scene”
Designer for FireCracker Designs by Pamela

CAS34 Butterflies

Here’s my entry into today’s CAS challenge – a color challenge. Color challenges usually give me fits but I’m finding that doing them in a CAS style is MUCH easier for me.

I made a template on a scrap by punching out 3 squares with my Nestie. I used post it notes to cover up the squares I wasn't sponging. I sponged in color moving from the outsides towards the center. I punched and embossing the butterflies and glued them on (only the left wing, the right wing is raised off the card).

Stamps: H and M Stamps Seeds of Kindness
Paper: Papertrey white, GP 110
Ink: Regal Rose, Certainly Celery, Bashful Blue, Momento Tuxedo Black
Accessories: Nesties (to make a mask), Martha Stewart 3 in 1 butterfly punch, Textile Texture Embossing Folder

Enjoy!
Michelle B.

“Queen of the Scene”
Designer for FireCracker Designs by Pamela

Just Hangin' Around

Today's Featured Stamper, NancyRuth, inspired this card with her fall scarecrow creation seen here. I changed the following:

1. The sketch - This sketch is from Crazy 4 Challenges - C4C4 (oh, how I love sketches!)
2. Color Scheme....kinda monochromatic with all those warm colors but then added a shot of purple to spice it up

I started with a piece of 4 x 5.25" Whisper White cardstock. I cut the small rectangle out with my Nesties. Then I trimmed the bottom and right side of the larger piece to match the sketch. Hmmm......How am I going to brayer those two pieces together without them moving around? I usually use my Cricut mat to stick everything down when I sponge but its not a good surface for brayering. So, I put a little piece of tape on the back to hold the pieces in place while I brayer.

I brayered So Safron and More Mustard on the bottom. Apricot Appeal, Pumpkin Pie and a bit of Riding Hood Red were brayered across the top. I stamped the corn in Creamy Carmel and colored them a bit more with Copics. The scarecrow was colored seperately and paper pieced in.

Stamps: Firecracker Designs by Pamela Hangin’ Around Scarecrow
Paper: Really Rust, Elegant Eggplant, Whisper White, GP 110
Ink: So Safron, More Mustard, Creamy Caramel, Apricot Appeal, Pumpkin Pie, Riding Hood Red, Momento Tuxedo Black
Accessories: Nesties, Copics, Linen Thread

Enjoy!
Michelle B.
“Queen of the Scene”
Designer for FireCracker Designs by Pamela

Here Fishey, Fishey

Hello! I went downstairs the other night intending just to kinda work on my idea on this card and before I knew it....It was done and it was 1:00 am! Oops. I created this using the recipe challenge from Artful Inkables. Sorry but no Artful Inkables stamps here .... yet! The sketch is from the new challenge blog Crazy 4 Challenges.

I colored the image using Copics and then I masked it to sponge in the water and a few Mother Mark clouds. I wanted the scene to match the DP a bit more so I added some Creamy Caramel sponging to the water line and all the edges.

Stamps: Hanna Stamps Fishing Riley
Paper: Tangerine Tango, GP 110, Cosmo Cricket DP
Ink: Creamy Caramel, Baja Breeze, Momento Tuxedo Black
Accessories: Scallop Edge Punch, ribbon from Pink Hedgehog, Double Rectangle punch, White Prismacolor pencil

Enjoy!
Michelle B.
“Queen of the Scene”

SC247 Asian Flower Window

Sketch Day! Ug, haven't slept much in days so I could barely pull myself out of bed. Tried to keep it simple (well it is for me anyway!). I wanted to use purple and yellow today....but it looked so Halloween-ish. I found if I used Mustard for the yellow, then my brain didn't think "Halloween".

I brayered So Safron and a little More Mustard to the bottom of the panel. I brayered Perfect Plum and a little Elegant Eggplant to the top of the panel. I stamped my images and then game them "The Silhouette Treatment" (aka added white highlights). All the edges of the cardstock layers are sponged.

Stamps: Firecracker Designs by Pamela Silhouette Flowers
Paper: More Mustard, Elegant Eggplant, Basic Black, Whisper White
Ink: So Safron, More Mustard, Perfect Plum, Elegant Eggplant, Momento Tuxedo Black
Accessories: Vase Punch, white Prismacolor pencil, Stamp-a-majig

Enjoy!
Michelle B. aka “Queen of the Scene”
Designer for FireCracker Designs by Pamela

The Horse is in the Barn

Today I'm showing you a scene with only a little coloring and ink. I am once again featuring the Horses of Courses set from FireCracker Designs by Pamela.

The horse head is stamped onto some Georgia Pacific 110 Cardstock and colored with Copics. I sponged several shades of yellow ink into the area around the horse (lighter colors went very close to the horse and darker colors only at the edges). The window frame was made using this technique except I just used Creamy Caramel cardstock instead of inking up my own (I was doing this from memory and forgot that part! Ha!). I did go back and sponge the edges with Chocolate Chip. Notice that I sponged the inside edges on two pieces and the outside edges of the other two.....great for building depth. I used the Distressed Stripes embossing folder again with more Chocolate Chip sponging for the red barn siding.

Stamps: Firecracker Designs by Pamela Horses of Courses
Paper: Riding Hood Red, Creamy Caramel, GP 110
Ink: Chocolate Chip, Barely Banana, Summer Sun, More Mustard
Accessories: Nesties, Copics, Distressed Stripes Embossing Folder, SU ribbon

Enjoy!
Michelle B. aka “Queen of the Scene”
Designer for FireCracker Designs by Pamela

FS137 Over the Top

For today's Featured Stamper challenge, I chose to CASE this card. I knew this was the right one when she said “I didn’t want it to be over the top” because I DID want mine to be over the top! This is for my BIL who has a wonderful eye for art!

Tankgrl’s card did not have any coloring. Neither did mine….the cupcake, icing, and candle were stamped, cut out, sponged, and paper pieced in!

Things I changed:
1. Color scheme….added purple
2. From cake to cupcake
3. Simplified the sketch
4. Over the top!

My friend Lisa asked me for some more tips on sponging the other day so I'll be back later to write some up.

Stamps: Stampendous Hey There Cupcake
Paper: Papertrey White, Whisper White
Ink: Summer Sun, Barely Banana, Lovely Lilac, Perfect Plum Elegant Eggplant, River Rock, Creamy Caramel, Chocolate Chip, Basic Black, Momento Tuxedo Black
Accessories: None!

Enjoy!
Michelle B. aka “Queen of the Scene”
Designer for FireCracker Designs by Pamela

Borrowing Freedom - Blog Hop

Welcome to the first Firecracker Designs By Pamela Blog Hop for DT 04! This month's theme is "Greetings & Salutations." We were asked to create any piece of art using our FCD monthly set that focused on this theme. I featured my favorite sentiment from Horses of Courses by using it in both the background and the foreground. The sentiment reads "In riding a horse we borrow freedom" (quoted from Helen Thomson). When I think of riding this horse along the beach.....ahhhhh....how free I'd feel!

NOTE: The official start time of this Hop is Friday, at 8:00 AM (EST). If you arrived early, please be patient as all the links may not be live yet.

This is a “circular blog hop” where the only beginning is wherever you start!! You will know you are at the end of your blog hop when you’ve come back to the blog you’ve started from! (It’s not a huge circle…so it should be easy to remember where you started.)

The winner will be chosen from a mystery blog hostess that we don’t even know who it will be until the hop is over…so that’s why you’ll want to leave a comment on EVERY blog, so you don’t miss out!

**To find out if you’ve won… you will be contacted by Pamela via e-mail (so be sure to leave it with your comment.) and you can also find out on Pamela’s blog after the blog hop ends on Mon, at 8:00 PM (EST).**

Now, to continue the circle, you will need to hop on over to Shelly's blog and keep going until you’ve come back to where you’ve started! Thanks so much for playing along with us and we hope you have a great time!


Deets on this card:
For the main image panel, I used the Michelle Zindorf's brayered sky technique for beaches for the background. My sky looked a little flat so I took a little piece of sponged and drug some white ink across for clouds. I stamped the horse in black onto the scene. I stamped him again onto some GP 110 white cardstock, colored him, and cut him out cutting off his hair and tail. He looked a little funny until I paper pieced him into the scene and give him his hair back! All the edges are sponged with Not Quite Navy ink.


Stamps: Firecracker Designs by Pamela Horses of Courses
Paper: River Rock, Baja Breeze, Whisper White, GP 110
Ink: Baja Breeze, Not Quite Navy, River Rock, Whisper White
Accessories: Copics, Designer Label punch, SU Linen Thread


Enjoy!
Michelle B. aka “Queen of the Scene”
Designer for FireCracker Designs by Pamela

Whiff of Joy Guest Designer Call

Whiff of Joy is having a Guest Designer call. Their images are so fun to color that I couldn’t resist making a submission. I decided to take a more clean and simple approach to this card in order to let the image and my coloring really stand out.

I colored Willow with Copics and masked her with Eclipse tape. I used Mother Mark’s cloud tutorial for my sky & just lightly sponged the grey to give a hint of a sidewalk. I also used a blender pen to darken the grey around Willow and give her a bit of a shadow.

ETA: Danielle asked how I cut the frame. Using my paper cutter, I cut across the top from the outside towards the umbrella stopping just before I reached the umbrella. Then on the right side I cut from the bottom up towards the umbrella stopping just before I reached the umbrella. I used my paper snips to cut the top of the umbrella out. When I matted the image on black, there was a corner of black hanging out from under the top of the umbrella so I just snipped off the corner of the black mat. Hope that helps.

Stamps: Whiff of Joy Willow with Umbrella
Paper: Lovely Lilac, Black, Papertrey White, GP 110
Ink: Bashful Blue, Going Grey, Momento Tuxedo Black
Accessories: Copics, Ribbon from Michaels, Martha Stewart Scallop Dot punch, blender pen, white gel pen

Enjoy!
Michelle B.

“Queen of the Scene”

TESC82 Western Horse

For Taylor’s Sketch Challenge this week, I am again featuring my Firecracker Designs by Pamela set for September. The set is called Horses of Courses and I can’t believe how many stamps are in this set! Horses of Courses has such a fabulous variety of horses – every size, angle you could ever want - in addition to sentiments for every occasion.

I wanted to go with a western feel to this piece so I stamped the horse with Chocolate Chip ink onto Very Vanilla cardstock. I roughly colored him with Prismacolor pencils and blended a bit with Goo Gone. I used a rectangle Nestie to cut him out and I left the Nestie in position while I sponged the area with Creamy Caramel, then a little Old Olive at the bottom only, and finally with Chocolate Chip. I removed the Nestie to reveal the crisp vanilla border surrounding the image. Fun!

I had some Ruby Red and Creamy Caramel cardstock with Perfectly Paisley embossing sent to me by my friend Mindy Young that was perfect for this card. I cut the Ruby Red piece to shape and heavily sponged with Chocolate Chip. I cut out one Paisley from the Creamy Caramel piece and heavily sponged with Chocolate Chip. I assembled all the pieces. Finally I added the little flourishes in the upper left corner that are also from the Horses of Courses set. They were stamped in Whisper White (note to self, need a good vanilla ink!) and I colored over them a bit with a Prismacolor pencil to tone it down.

Stamps: Firecracker Designs by Pamela Horses of Courses
Paper: Chocolate Chip, Very Vanilla, Ruby Red, Creamy Caramel
Ink: Chocolate Chip, Creamy Caramel, Old Olive, Whisper White
Accessories: Nesties, Prismacolor pencils & Goo Gone, Perfectly Paisley EF

Enjoy!
Michelle B.
“Queen of the Scene”
Designer for FireCracker Designs by Pamela

FS136 Pumpkin Fairy

When I think of Shannan Teubner, today’s Featured Stamper, I think of Bella’s so I knew I was going to use a Bella today. I’m not quite sure how this happened but I saw this Eloise card and was intrigued by the fall colors (I always color her Spring-y). I decided to make a fall pumpkin fairy for my niece and I just kinda went crazy after that.

I changed the sketch to Fall to Layout #59. While I kept the same Eloise image, I radically changed her by masking off her flower and stamping in a pumpkin instead. Practically the entire card is covered in Candlelight Shimmerz as my niece loves BLING!

The background is just roughly sponged in. The golden sky was created by first sponging Barely Banana all the way in almost to the image. Next So Safron was sponged in not quite as far and finally More Mustard was sponged just in the upper corners and around the edges. The ground was done the same way......I placed a piece of cardstock across the piece for my horizon line and then I sponged Creamy Caramel all the way up to the mask. Next Close to Cocoa partway up and finally Chocolate Chip in the bottom corners and edges. I did not mask any of the images as didn't take the yellow all the way in and the browns just added to the fall colors at the bottom.

Enjoy!
Michelle B.
“Queen of the Scene”

SC245 Field of Horses

Boo Hoo! I've been trying all morning but mean ol' blogger won't let me upload any pictures. So, in desperation, the best I can do right now is provide a link to my card on SCS here. I'll come back later and try to add the pic. ETA: Finally, I was able to add this pic!


Today’s sketch challenge inspired me to create a field of horses. Near my house is a field very much like this and I smile every time I drive by. I always say its the best part of my house!

CUTTING
I started by cutting out the sketch elements using my Nesties. Here is a tutorial on how I cut my sketches.
LITTLE HORSES
I stamped the little horses into position on the sketch elements and colored them with Copics. Then I colored over them with a Versamark pen and embossed them with clear detail embossing powder.
BACKGROUND
I used torn paper (I have a piece I've been using forever as you can see here!) to mask off the ground and I sponged in the sky - mostly in Soft Sky ink with just a little Baja Breeze in the upper corners. Next I used the other half of that torn paper to mask off the sky and sponged Kiwi Kiss right at the sky line and worked down ward about half way. Then I switched to Old Olive to sponge the rest of the way down. I went back to Kiwi Kiss to blend the two colors together where they meet. Then I added some trees (very the height and spacing!), bushes, grasses, etc.
MAIN IMAGE HORSE
This little cutie was stamped seperately, colored with Copics, and cut out. I decided I didn't really want to cut his tail and other hair out so I just cut those pieces off. Then I stamped him again onto the main image panel and paper pieced in my colored horse. Here's a link to some cutting tips & tricks.
HINTS
#1 Things are smaller and lighter in color in the background so by using a lighter green and smaller images in the back, I created a real feeling of depth. This Horses of Courses stamp set by Firecracker Designs by Pamela is perfect for perspective work like this as the horse images come in many different sizes. #2 Watch where those trees are....you don't want a tree growing out of a horses head! Make sure they are offset a bit.
FINISHING
Finally, I matted all the pieces with Chocolate Chip cardstock and assembled....uh, still needed something so I added the ribbon.

Stamps: Firecracker Designs by Pamela Horses of Courses, Firecracker Designs by Pamela Scenic BywaysPaper: Chocolate Chip, Whisper White, GP 110Ink: Soft Sky, Baja Breeze, Kiwi Kiss, Old Olive, Always Artichoke, Chocolate Chip, Accessories: Copics, clear detail embossing powder, Versamark pen, Pop-Dots, SU ribbon, Nesties

Enjoy!
Michelle B. aka “Queen of the Scene”
Designer for FireCracker Designs by Pamela

CAS31 Popped Ornies

Today’s CAS challenge was to use pop-dots. I used them to pop my ornaments up and out of this little scene. The sketch is based on Fall To Layout #56.

I feel a little funny when I do a CAS style card because I don't see that there needs to be much of a "how to" explanation. So I'll just say I'm one step closer to my Christmas Card Challenge goal of 5 Christmas cards this month!

Stamps: Papertrey Ink Take a Bough
Paper: Old Olive, Very Vanilla, SU DP
Ink: Chocolate Chip, Old Olive, Real Red, Going Grey
Accessories: Pop-Dots!, SU ribbon

Enjoy!
Michelle B.
“Queen of the Scene”
Designer for FireCracker Designs by Pamela

FS135 Lori is Featured!

Yippee! My friend Lori was the Featured Stamper today! Congrats Lori! How lucky am I? I just got to meet her the other day! You can see us here.

If I was going to CASE Lori, I knew it was going to need some polka dots and a stamp set from Papertrey. I chose this card from Lori as my start. I changed the sketch, added blue to the color scheme, and put a little “Michelle Spin” on the main image.

While this card didn’t quite turn out as I had envisioned, this is DEFINITELY the best knot I have ever tied! So I ended up happy!

Stamps: Papertrey Ink Out on a Limb, Papertrey Ink Pond Life, Papertery Ink Polka Dot Basics II
Paper: Baja Breeze, Elegant Eggplant, GP 110
Ink: Elegant Eggplant, Chocolate Chip, Perfect Plum
Accessories: Copics, Copic airbrush system, clear acetate sheet (for mirror imaging), white gel pen, fine black marker, ribbon from Pink Hedgehog, scallop rectangle Nestie

Enjoy!
Michelle B. aka “Queen of the Scene”
Designer for FireCracker Designs by Pamela

FLLCSEPT Ornie

This is my entry for Flourishes sketch challenge. You know I can’t resist a good sketch! I’m not really a “bow girl” but when I saw this sketch, I thought the ornament hanging from the tree would be perfect and I could use a knot……then it took me a whole day to figure out what colors to use! Ha!

For the main panel, I stamped the ornament in Versamark and embossed with silver EP. Then I placed the main image panel on top of the Sky Blue strip and stamped the branch in Blue Bayou. Next I heavily sponged all the edges of the ornament. Finally, I colored a fat line of Copic B00 around the edge and quickly blended it into the white.

Stamps: Flourishes All that Glitters
Paper: Soft Sky, Blue Bayou, Papertrey White
Ink: Soft Sky, Blue Bayou
Accessories: Copics, Versamark, silver embossing powder, Martha Stewart punch, crop-o-dile, ribbon from Pink Hedgehog

Enjoy!
Michelle B. aka “Queen of the Scene”
Designer for FireCracker Designs by Pamela

Reflection

Here's my last card from the Zindorf class and this is my last day of vacation. This card was the most difficult one we did in the sheer number of steps. I certainly need more practice photographing embossed images! Ug...the glare! Did I tell you I had so much fun that I signed up for another Advanced Zindorf class in February. Can't wait!

Enjoy!
Michelle B.
"Queen of the Scene"

HSSEPT09 Relax Hanna….

….its just sewing! Here’s my entry for the Hanna Stamps sewing challenge. This would only be the 2nd card I’ve ever sewed. Who would have thought sewing crooked lines would be so difficult? At least this time I didn’t try to sew through adhesive! Ha! You know what else is interesting about this? I actually made this during daylight hours and was able to photograph it outside!

Thank you so much for your kind comments about my card yesterday and how you've missed my usual style. I miss doing those types of cards too! I have been doing some Clean and Simple cards lately to try to learn how to speed up my card making and to give me some more flexibility in making deadlines (for the DT or for contests). Don't worry though....I'm not going to give up on these sketchy scenes!

To make this card, I stamped and colored Hanna. I colored over here with a Virsmark pen and embossed her. Now here's a little trick I learned at the Zindorf class....when embossing a light colored object, you may want to emboss it twice! I have embossed people before but the ink always seemed to leak into the skin colored areas. Today I embossed Hanna twice and she's as pretty as when I started. I sponged the ground in using a torn paper mask (cause I started off brayering and messed up!). I brayered in the sky. Finally, I sewed the curvy lines in.

Stamps: Hanna Stamps Lazy Days
Paper: Chocolate Chip, Certainly Celery, Whisper White
Ink: Bashful Blue, Certainly Celery, Momento Tuxedo Black
Accessories: Copics, Virsamark pen, clear detail embossing powder, Martha Stewart Punch, sewing machine

Enjoy!
Michelle B. aka “Queen of the Scene”
Designer for FireCracker Designs by Pamela

SC244 End of Summer & Hi to Lori!

Ahhhh......a return to my classic style of scene split across sketch and red frames. It's been a while since I've had time to do this much. So, today is the last day of summer for my kids as they return to school tomorrow. To honor the day, I chose to do a beach scene for today's sketch challenge. (more deets below)

I've had so many exciting things going on I just can't keep up with telling you everything! When I was on vacation last week at Mall of America, I surprised my friend Lori McAree with a message saying "I'm here!". She dropped everything and ran down to the mall to meet up with me. We had a wonderful time chatting while my kids played. I felt like I've know her forever...she is such a doll! Thanks for meeting up with me Lori! Here's a pic of the two of us in front of Spongebob's pineapple house at Nickelodeon Universe (the amusement park inside the Mall).

Wow, I was having a bad hair day!

Ok, back to the details of the card if you are still reading along......

I brayered the sand and sky. The ocean line was sponged in using a post it note as a mask for a straight horizon line. I used a white gel pen to add the wave line. Next I stamped in the sea shells. I colored my palm trees, cut them out, and glued them to the main panel. I used my Nesties to cut the sketch elements out and layered in my red cardstock frames. Finally, I colored Riley, cut him out, adhered him to the center panel, and used a white gel pen to add some waves across his toes!

Need more to read? Ha! Here's a link to a tutorial on how I cut my scenes.

Stamps: Hanna Stamps Fins Riley, High Hopes Palm Tree, High Hopes Shell Two
Paper: Whisper White, Real Red
Ink: Bashful Blue, Cool Caribbean, River Rock

Accessories: Copics, Nesties, White Gel Pen, White Prismacolor Pencil

Enjoy!

Michelle B.
"Queen of the Scene"
Designer for FireCracker Designs by Pamela

Yippee! I made it!

So a few weeks ago, I made a last minute decision to try out for the FireCracker Designs by Pamela design team. I didn't try out the first time they posted because I didn't have any of their stamps yet. I did make a note to buy them before the tryouts next year. Then FireCracker Designs posted the call again and I decided to go for it. I stayed up til 4:00 AM stamping my entries! My effort paid off and I've made the team! Yippee! You can see the official announcement here.

This was one of my entries. It was inspired by the print that hangs above my computer. I knew I should have written down all the stamps and supplies I used the night I made this so let me try to figure out what I did:

Green panel - Stamped swirls from Innovative Stamp Creations in Chocolate Chip ink with Virsamark onto Very Vanilla cardstock. Embossed. Sponged Old Olive ink almost to the center of the panel. Sponged Chocolate Chip ink around the edges.

Red panel - Stamped text from Innovative Stamp Creations in just Virsamark onto Very Vanilla cardstock. Embossed. Sponged Riding Hood Red almost to the center of the panel. Sponged Chocolate Chip ink around the edges.

Brown panel - Randomly stamped marble texture from Stampendous Marble Texture Cube with Chocolate Chip onto Creamy Caramel Cardstock. Sponged edges with Chocolate Chip. Needed more so I dragged the Chocolate Chip pad across the edges of the panel. I needed a flower stem but didn't have one so....I used the lamp base from my Hanna Stamps Bookworm set. It's a clear stamp set so I was able to curve it onto my block before stamping. I colored it, cut it out, and pieced it onto the panel. The flower from Papertrey Ink was colored with Copics, cut out and glued into place.

The three panels were then mounted onto Chocolate Chip cardstock.

Enjoy!

Michelle B.

"Queen of the Scene"

Designer for FireCracker Designs by Pamela!!!