Impression Obsession DT Post + FSC32 Hot Colors

Happy DT Thursday! It's my turn to post a card for Impression Obsession - I'm glad you popped by for a visit. I've chosen some hot summer colors to work with, inspired by Flower Soft's "Hot Colors" challenge this week. This is the image I used (Flower Pitcher), and the sentiment is from Birthday Cakes:Here's my card:

I stamped the image in Sahara Sand chalk ink, then watercolored with the same ink, and some other dye reinkers. I used Sage, Citrus Crush, Marigold, and Bright Pink Flower Soft on the flowers. I worked in layers with the Flower Soft, allowing the glue to dry each time. I tied the double bow with my Bow-Easy.

The team is getting excited about the new images that we've been playing with for CHA... you're going to love them! Be looking for some sneak peeks in the coming weeks! Thanks again for stopping by ------

Skipping Stones Design Sketch 82

Not sure what happened to June! It's already my last week as guest designer at Skipping Stones Design - thanks, ladies, for the opportunity to hang out with you... we'll have to do it again soon! Here's the sketch for this week's challenge - I took a couple of liberties... but it was fun!

I used patterned papers to piece my little hot air balloon scene, and added a little more color with my chalk pencils. This is a new set called Uplifting... all the elements of the set make putting a scene together so easy! I love the sentiment I used inside! It says, " Next time a sunrise steals your breath or a meadow of flowers leaves you speechless, remain that way. Say nothing, and listen as heaven whispers, 'Do you like it? I did it just for you.'"~ Max Lucado

Remember to pop over to the SSD blog to see what the rest of the team has created! Thanks for stopping by to visit me!

Stamped "designer paper"

This is a pretty simple card, but I love the layout, and I love the focal panel... I saw some very similar designer paper (but I don't remember where... sorry I can't give credit for the inspiration!), and decided to recreate it myself - so often we ignore the small accent stamps that come with our sets. This is a great way to use them! The stamps I used are from Sweet 'n Sassy Stamps. My flower is handmade, using punched flowers. The flowers on my homemade DP are colored with Touch Twin Markers.
While I'm here, I want to share one more new favorite link with you - Creating Memories in Time! The owner of this store also has an ebay store, here, and I have ordered from her several times... I just got a whole mess of Quickutz dies from her and the prices were unbelievable - up to 75% off retail! If you're looking for great prices on paper crafting supplies, be sure to check her out.

Hope you have a great weekend!

Just for fun.......

.......a cute little summer shaker card! The card front, card base, and shaker pouch are part of a card-making kit from Impression Obsession - there are different color sets and shaker shapes available (this is the small circle), and you can find them all here!
The image is called Lanterns (it's a much bigger image than shows in the circle frame!)... looks like a great place for a quiet conversation, and I love the whimsy of the lanterns. I tucked some heart confetti in the shaker. I also stamped Cover-a-Card Large Dots in white die ink on the card front before assembling my card.

Happy Summer to you!

Skipping Stones Design Sketch 81

Here's the sketch for this week's challenge at Skipping Stones Design - it's been a while since I've made a round card, so this was a bit of a stretch for me!
Here's my card - I grabbed this color combo from my scrap basket, stamped the scalloped panel with the berry from the Friendly Fruit set using Currant ink, and colored the berries with Prismacolor pencils. The tag die is a Spellbinders exclusive from JustRite Stampers.
The bow needed 'something else' so I stamped another berry and embossed it from the backside so it had a little more dimension.
Pop on over to the SSD site to see what the rest of the team has created! There are incentives for joining us, too... but you can't win if you don't play along!

Have a great week!

Paper Crafts pub

A little personal 'woot' here... I have a card in the July/August 2011 edition of Paper Crafts Magazine! All stamps used are from Impression Obsession. Here's a picture that I took of the card before sending it in (hopefully theirs came out better!)... can someone send me a scan of my card in the magazine so I can see it? I'm sure it will be a while before I see my copy. Thanks!

What a crazy week it's been!

Impression Obsession DT Challenge: Hot Fun in the Summertime

The Impression Obsession team's challenge today is to create a summer-themed project. I had this goldfish colored up from a tutorial I was working on (I used Prismacolor pencils to color it), so I made him a little swimmy summer scene. The circles were cut with Spellbinders dies - I layered both panels together so the cuts lined up. There is a piece of acetate sandwiched between. I embossed Cover-a-Card Bubbles over the panel, then brushed some chalk ink over the embossing at the top and the bottom of the panel, using a "direct-to-paper" technique. The sentiment is a partial impression - the full sentiment is HERE.

Be sure to check out these other designers' blogs for inspiration -

Daniela @ For the First Time
Deborah @ Cards and Things
Jeanne @ Inky Paws
Jenny @ One Krafty Kat
Julie @ Out to Impress
Kathy @ Watermelon Sugar
Laura @ Laura's Stamp Art Journal
Shirley @ Card Art, Etc.

Remember 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!! We'd love to have you join us.

Skipping Stones Design Blog Hop & Sketch 80

Welcome to the Skipping Stones Design new release blog hop! Today we're celebrating the release of a new cutie puppy set called Dogs Vol. 1. My stamps are still in the mail... sigh.... so here's one of my own cute puppies to tide you over! LOL - how adorable is that little tongue?If you're a regular reader of my blog and just happened upon my section of the hop, you may want to start back at the Skipping Stones Design blog - The entire hop order is there and you never know where you might find blog candy up for grabs.... You can always refer to the list there, too, if you get lost... and they have some special offers this week, too. If you hopped here from Barb's blog, you're on the right track. Here's the sketch the team is working with this week... Latisha Yoast is providing all the fabulous sketch inspiration this month including the sketch we're using in today's hop! Since I don't have my puppy stamps yet, I pulled out my favorite set instead! I used Heartsong, and a sentiment from Healing Wings. The bird is stamped in Versafine Smokey Grey and watercolored with reinkers. I stamped a couple extra branch ends and fluffed up the scene with some Sage and Marigold Flower Soft.
From here you'll be hopping to Kandi's blog, Krafty Kandi Krafts! Hope you enjoy the hop - thanks for stopping by!

Flower Soft/Really Reasonable Ribbon Hop

Are you ready for some fun? Come join us in a special blog hop with The Flower Soft & Really Reasonable Ribbon Design Teams! We've traded products and today we're showing our Red, White and Blue projects! If you arrived here from Angi's blog, you're on the right track. If you just happened to stop by, you may want to start from the Flower Soft Blog to make sure you don't miss a thing... because prizes are involved!!

I used a couple of retired stamp sets on my card... so sad to see them retire because they really are so fun to work with! I really wanted my 'red' to be roses vining up a fence... the flowers are from a birdhouse set that came with vines and flowers. The scene is watercolored with chalk inks. Please just imagine adorable red gingham ribbon on my card... my package of ribbon is still in the mail somewhere! :(

As you make your way through the hop make sure you comment on each and every post. There will be 4 prize winners chosen randomly among the blogs. Flower Soft and Really Reasonable Ribbon will each be selecting two winners (one person randomly from the entire blog hop and one each from someone who comments on their teams blogs) to win prize packages!

The blog hop ends on June 19^th. The prize winners will be announced on The Flower Soft blog and Really Reasonable Ribbon Ramblings blogs on Monday June 20th.

From here you'll be hopping to Crystal's blog! Thanks for joining us today!

Twinchie Spotlight

Flourishes' Bring Back Beautiful challenge this month (#11) is to use the Spotlight technique... this technique involves stamping an image twice. One image is left uncolored; on the second image, a portion is colored, cut out, and layered (sometimes matted) onto the first image.

I stamped my first image (Orchids set) on tan linen cardstock with Sahara Sand chalk ink. My second image is stamped on a Twinchie Square from Inchie Arts. I watercolored the background and colored the flowers with Touch Twin Markers. The horizontal panel on my card was colored with markers to match.

Thanks for the challenge, ladies!

P.S. Here's a link to Dick Blick's most recent sale ad........

Blick Art Materials: SAVE up to 80% on Select Items through June 22nd!

The way to know life....

I clicked on a SCS ad recently for Daily Window Bags and noticed they were having a contest... so this was my entry! Daily Window Bags feature a clear pocket where you can display photos, printed cards, or your own artwork. Sounds cool... and for a chance to win... why not? All stamps are from Impression Obsession - the rose is embossed with detail clear embossing powder and watercolored using lots of water and reinkers. It was my first time trying that technique, and I love the result!Stamps used: Romantic Rose, Love Many Things
Hope you have a great weekend!

I'm a grandma!

This is what's new at my house... our dog had 5 puppies last night! So fun.

Skipping Stones Design Sketch 79

I'm one of the guest designers over at Skipping Stones Design this month - here's the sketch we're playing with this week! Be sure to check their site for details on the challenge and a peek at how the design team interpreted the sketch...
Here's my card, and a little bonus tag.... For the card, I stamped the butterfly from the Always Here set on watercolor paper, watercolored with reinkers, and masked it with a sticky note. Then I stamped the Timeless Textures background in dye ink over the whole panel, and spritzed the ink with water to let it bleed and run. After that was dry, I went back and added a shadow around the butterfly with reinkers.I layered that panel on black cardstock, then used a corner punch (EK Success) to create the rounded corner slots. The sentiment is stamped on a small label, made by cutting one side of a Spellbinders Labels 18 die, then moving the die down and cutting again to create a smaller tag. I died the ribbon with the same reinkers I used to paint the butterflies. The tag was created with the same elements used on the card, and I curved the sentiment stamp on my block before stamping.

Here's a close-up on the butterfly - I love how it looks like it's raised off the card - it really isn't!
Thanks for stopping by today!

a house full of people I love

Just so thankful for my family today! This sentiment from Impression Obsession sums up my feelings...! This is a little collage-y project I made for CHA in January - the template is below if you'd like to make your own house card. The fold is at the left side of the roof.
Stamps used: A House Full, Lovely Rose (leaves)

If you do make your own house card, please give me credit for the template, and send me a link so I can see!

Impression Obsession DT Challenge: Let's Hear it for the Boys!

The Impression Obsession team's challenge today is to create a masculine project, something a boy or man would be happy to receive. Well, what man doesn't love his morning coffee? I paper pieced the Coffee Aroma image (it is available in red rubber or as part of a fun clear set), adding some shading and highlights with Prismacolor pencils. The sentiment is from another clear set called More Coffee.The background panel was embossed with a Fiskars texture plate, then sanded, and overstamped with the Wood Grain Cover-a-Card.

Be sure to check out these other designers' blogs for inspiration -

Daniela @ For the First Time
Deborah @ Cards and Things
Jeanne @ Inky Paws
Jenny @ One Krafty Kat
Julie @ Out to Impress
Laura @ Laura's Stamp Art Journal

Remember 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!! We'd love to have you join us.