SC261 Silhouette Flowers

Well I was down at my craft table struggling on a project that just wasn't happening when I received the email notice of the sketch challenge being posted. Shew, I was so glad to put that other project away and put this beauty together!

I am featuring one of the first stamps sets from Artful INKables I fell in love with. This set is called Plant Prints and has many beautiful images.

Here I am also showing you that you do not have to be a queen of brayering to make a beautiful background sky. I used a blue DP and brayered a bit of a darker blue to the top and bottom for interest and depth. (you could also sponge this). I also sponged a bit of black around the bottom of the flowers to really ground them. Originally I had punched the butterfly out of black cardstock but it was just too harsh. So, I punched him out of the blue DP and sponged black onto him. Ah, that's better! Don't forget to add a bit of white to your silhouette images to really make them come to life!

Does my picture look any better? Remember that I stamp at night in a dark unfinished basement and have been struggling with lighting. I received an Ott light for Christmas and I used it to light this photo. I think it looks much better!

Stamps: Artful INKables Plant Prints
Paper: Basic Black, Basic Grey Urban Prairie DP
Ink: Momento Tuxedo Black, Basic Black, Not Quite Navy
Accessories: Martha Stewart Butterfly Punch

Enjoy!
Michelle B.
"Queen of the Scene"

Playing Catchup

I have a few projects I didn't have time to post during Christmas so we'll be doing a little review, k? This was made for DH for Christmas. To "get" what I am trying to say here, you have to understand that we love to lay on the floor in front of the fireplace and watch movies. We used to have time to do that a lot when we were dating.....now, not so often. Ha!

This was a really simple scene. I used DP for the "wallpaper" and my digi wood floor. The other elements are colored with Copics, cut out, and placed into position.

Stamps: CC Designs Sugarplums Christmas Scenery, CC Designs Sugarplums Apple Emma, CC Designs Sugarplums Christmas Trevor, The Cat’s Pajamas Candyland Christmas (wreath), JustPaintingAround’s Digi Wood Floor Vertical
Paper: Chocolate Chip, Creamy Caramel, Basic Grey Wassail DP, GP 110
Ink: Momento Tuxedo Black
Accessories: Copics, glitter pen (on flames)

Enjoy!

Michelle B.

"Queen of the Scene"

Ducky Toy for Baby

I'm back! Hope you had a good Christmas! I sure did. 4 days and 6 houses later, I am glad to have the day to relax today, visit some blogs (I am WAY behind), and play with some of my new toys.

When Pamela at Firecracker challenged us to use our Christmas sets for non-Christmas cards, the birthday candle from the Christmas tree idea came to me right away. Then it took me a while to think of this one. When I finally thought of it I said "Well duh! It was so obvious!" Ha! My daughter actually had a little duck pull toy like this that sang a little quacking song. I am sure my husband and I will never forget that song after being drilled into our heads for hours!

Be sure to visit the sale page at FireCracker Designs by Pamela as those items are now 70% off while supplies last!

Stamps: FireCracker Designs by Pamela Duck the Halls
Paper: Papertrey White, So Safron, SU DP
Ink: Momento Tuxedo Black
Accessories: Copics

Enjoy!
Michelle B.

360!

Woo, hoo, this is soo cool! I'll show you both pics before I keep jabberin' on....



This Flip Flop or Swing card style is near and dear to me as this is what drove me to Split Coast Stampers. I had seen one of these at a SU party and couldn't figure out how to make one. I started searching on the internet and it wasn't long before I discovered SCS. Wow, all the things I have learned and the fabulous people I have met there are amazing! The tutorial for this type of card is HERE.

My intent was that DS could open and close this quickly and make it appear that this little snowboarder was doing a 360! (I actually made 2 of these - one for DS and one for the AI DT. )

I colored the snowboarders with Copics and cut them out. On the first (closed) pic, I just punched a little snowy hill (to place him on the ground), sponged in some dark blue at the bottom of the main blue panel, stamped on some snow flakes, and pieced everything together. For the inside, I did the same using a tree punch to give the appearance that he was up in the air.

Stamps: Artful INKables License to Chill
Paper: Blue Bayou, Soft Sky, Bazzill Dark Green, GP 110
Ink: Momento Tuxedo Black, Whisper White, Blue Bayou, Always Artichoke, Soft Sky
Accessories: Copics, EK Success Dotted wave punch, Martha Stewart Pine Forest punch

Enjoy!
Michelle B.
“Queen of the Scene”

New Years Resolution Challenge

It's my turn to host the Artful INKables Think INK Tuesday challenge. Since this challenge would be spanning the new year, I decided to ask you to be inspired by your New Year's Resolution. Complete details on this challenge can be found here. I hope you'll play along!


One thing I'd like to do this year is work at keeping my stamp area neater! So, I made this card with items that were sitting out on my stamp table and then I actually put them away when I was done. So I grabbed a few scraps of paper that were laying out, figured out a nice way to layer them, and got to work. My image is colored with Prismacolor pencils for a nice change.


(This is really scary for me but...) Here is a picture of my stamp table before:


And after:



I'm proud to report that I've made several more cards since and I am still neat! Now I just need to get around to cleaning all that paint off my table and cleaning the surrounding areas!


Stamps: Artful INKables License to Chill
Paper: Papertrey Kraft, Not Quite Navy, Bazzill Dark Green, Basic Grey Wassail DP
Ink: Momento Tuxedo Black, Whisper White, Not Quite Navy
Accessories: Prismacolor Pencils, Nesties, Scallop Edge Punch


Enjoy!
Michelle B.
“Queen of the Scene”

Snow Globe for DD

When I saw this Snow Globe Card Tutorial over on SCS, I knew I had to make one for my DD. She collects Snow Globes and loves penguins so this is what I came up with.


I followed the instructions pretty much to a "T". I sponged a little dark blue ink on the edges of the base to give it a round feel and also behind the tree line for depth. Everything else is punched, colored and pieced into place.


Stamps: Clear Dollar Stamps Just Chillin’
Paper: GP 110, Soft Sky, a Bazzill dark green, Basic Grey Eskimo Kisses DP
Ink: Momento Tuxedo Black, Pacific Point, Soft Sky, White Stazon
Accessories: Copics, White Flower Soft, acetate, circle nesties, ribbon from Pink Hedgehog, Martha Stewart and Marvy Snowflake punches, Kaiser Kraft rhinestone, glitter pen, Martha Stewart Pine Forest Punch, EK Success Dotted Wave punch


Enjoy!
Michelle B.
“Queen of the Scene”

TESC95 Beautiful Mermaid

Oh, man, I am crazy about how this turned out! This is for my niece who will be turning 5. My niece has gorgeous hair like this mermaid and loves everything sparkly and princess like. She is also the fabulous girl that dubbed me "Aunt Shoe" when she was too little to say my name. As a shoe lover, I was thrilled at this choice!

I started with the sketch from TESC95. My ocean background is inspired by those in Spongebob episodes. (I love their artwork!) I clear embossed the fish and flowers onto Whisper White cardstock. Next I used the Brayered Sky Technique with Baja Breeze at the top and Not Quite Navy at the bottom. I used a rectangle Nestie to cut out the center and inserted a piece of pink cardstock before piecing the scene back together. I punched the sandy bottom out and cut to size. I sponged some additional color and a sentiment into that area. The rock and mermaid were colored with Copics, cut out, and pieced into place. I added some Liquid Pearl accents and also some green Stickles on the mermaid's tail.

Stamps: CC Designs Sugarplums Underwater Adventure, CC Designs Sugarplums Mermaid Emma,CC Designs Sugarplums Scenery, CC Designs AmyR Underwater Sentiments
Paper: Whisper White, GP 110, River Rock, Pink Passion
Ink: Momento Tuxedo Black, Baja Breeze, Not Quite Navy, River Rock, Creamy Caramel, Chocolate Chip
Accessories: Copics, Green Stickles, Liquid Pearls, Rectangle Nesties, EK Success Dotted Wave Punch, Versamark Pad, Clear Detail Embossing Powder

Enjoy!
Michelle B.
“Queen of the Scene”