Just Swinging By (Make it Pop Challenge #186)

Hello everyone! I think just might be one of my favorite cards I have ever created. I just love the way the paper works together, and how cute is that image?!? This card was definitely a labor of love, and the payoff was huge. It was so fun to watch it come together! I can't wait to send it to a very special friend who could use a little cheering up.

The card base is 5" x 7" and I used Kraft Cardstock. Then I cut a 4 3/4" x 6 3/4" piece of silver glitter paper to use as the base for the sunburst of patterned papers. I created the sunburst design using Penelope paper from CTMH. Unfortunately, this is a retiring paper pack, and it is no longer available, but any paper would work for this card! The clouds are complements that went along with the Penelope paper. Now for the image. This sweet girl is a digital stamp from Tiddly Inks, called Wryn Swinging By. I colored her two times with Copic markers and layered the images to "make it pop." The kraft paper the image is mounted on was popped with foam tape. The tree is also popped with one layer of foam tape, and then Wryn is popped with two layers of foam tape. Feel free to click on any image for a closer look. The result is a swinging girl with lots of dimension! Hope you love her as much as I do :)

Crystal's Card

Today, I would like to share another card I made recently. This one was for my sweet friend, Crystal (Crafting with Crystal) who I love dearly. There are so many things I love about Crystal, but when I think about her, one of the things that sticks is how much she LOVES to read. This image was just perfect to use for her birthday card!

I used the Kaleidoscope paper packet from CTMH, and a digital stamp image from Tiddly Inks called School Girl. The image was colored with Copic Markers. I added some clear Wink of Stella shimmer to the band on her hat, and the ribbons behind the hat. Finally, I embellished the card with pink shimmer trim, and four silver puffy flowers. The final card dimensions are 6" x 6".

Blogging again - Card for Nancy!

I feel like a broken record. Life has gotten away from me quite a bit over the last few years, and I become woefully neglectful of my poor blog *again*. Thankfully, I am FINALLY finished my dissertation, so there are no more papers to write or studying to do. My job has settled down A LOT, leaving me with more time for fun stuff. Things have gotten to the point where I have been able to spend a lot more time crafting, which has me super excited! I have taken quite a few photos of my art recently, and am excited to start posting regularly again.

Having said all of that, I have a cute card I want to share with you today. My dear friend Nancy (Creatively Artsy Card Gallery) had a birthday back in March. I managed to make her this card, but for some reason I didn't mail it. I guess I kept wishing and hoping I would see her to give it to her in person! Well...that wish finally came true, and we were able to hang out all day on Saturday. This is the card I made for her special day.

The card uses an adorable digital stamp from Tiddly Inks called Wryn-Close to my Heart. I colored the image using my Copic markers. It's hard to see in the photo, but the wings and heart are embellished with Wink of Stella Clear Glitter. The paper is all from Close to my Heart. The Charlotte Paper (no longer available) and Black and Grey Glitter Paper were used on this 6" x 6" card. I hope you love it as much as Nancy did :-)

Crystal's Birthday Card

I'm back and I have a super cute card I want to share! Last month was my CTMH BFF, Crystal's birthday, and it is tradition that she gets a handmade card. (I mean...I really can't give a store bought card to someone who is also a paper crafter like me, now can I?!?)

Last summer, Crystal and I attended a two day workshop to become certified Copic marker instructors. We really didn't do it because we wanted to teach, only because we wanted to learn techniques for using our markers to the best of their ability since they were a BIG investment. We had a ton of fun, and learned so much from the incredible instructor Cindy Lawrence. Unfortunately, once school started up in the fall, there was little time to play. Although I'm a little rusty, I broke out the markers for this card, and I'm pretty happy with the way it turned out. (I liked it so much, it was tough to put it in the mail...haha!)

Anyway, this card uses a digital stamp image called "Happy Bee Day" by Tiddly Inks. (I just love their adorable images!) The paper pack I used is called Hopscotch from Close to my Heart. Unfortunately, the paper is no longer available because it has sold out :-( In order to add a little something extra, I used a clear Wink of Stella glitter pen on the girl's wings and headband, as well as the bee to make him shimmer. I used some foam tape to give the bee and the sentiment some dimension. For the finishing touches, I used Bronze Shimmer Trim and a few gems from the Brown & Tan Sparkles Assortment, all from Close to my Heart. Hope you like the card as much as I do :)

Graduation Card with Copics

A few weeks ago, I attended Copic Certification classes in Philadelphia with my CTMH BFF, Crystal. We spent two jam-packed days learning how to use and blend with Copic Markers, along with many other fun techniques. We have both had Copics for years, but never really learned how to use them properly. I'm so glad we took the time to attend these classes. Cindy Lawrence was our instructor, and we learned so much from her! Ever since that weekend, I've been so busy that I really haven't had much of a chance to play with my new skills. Well...that chance finally came today!

Today I want to share a graduation card for a party I'm attending tomorrow. I used this adorable hedgehog stamp from Penny Black called "A Scholar." All of the products are Close to my Heart with the exception of the stamp and the circle Nestabilities dies. The paper is all from a pack called Dream Pop, but I'm sad to say it is no longer available. (I'm desperately trying to use up some of my stash before buying more paper!) I used Bronze Shimmer trim and Brown Glitter Paper to add some bling on the right side of the card. The flower is from the Chantilly Assortment set. I just love the paper I added to the inside of the card as well. It's light enough that I can write a message, but added just the right amount of fun. As always, you can click on any image for a closer look!

I used MANY Copics to color this image. The B colors were used for the sky. I used the E colors on the hedgehog. The G colors were used for the grass, and the W colors were used on the graduation hat. The red and yellow were accents colors for the star and the ribbon.

I decided to use this week's Mojo Monday sketch as the layout for this card. It is such a fun layout and I loved playing along with the challenge!