Bee Happy!

I'm totally digging watercoloring these days so I've been working on stamps that I can add a lot of color to. This is not totally watercoloring as I do not have a big space to have a cup of water and lay out colors and stuff, but I'll get there soon. For now, I'm using Tim Holtz Distress Markers and a waterbrush to do my coloring.

I used paper from Free To Be Me paper collection as my card base, you can't see clearly from the picture but it's the one with a glossy background to it, the design resembled a hive so I thought it would be appropriate for this theme. The stamp set I used is from Jeanette's Archive, it's called Happy Hive. I pretty much used the whole set. I wanted to create sort of like a theme with all these bees swirling around.

I used watercolor paper (140lb), stamped the images using Memento black ink. This is the only ink I know where the color doesn't bleed. I used Tim Holtz Walnut Stain to stamp the hive, Black Soot for the bee stripe, Mustard Seed for the rest of the bee body. The flowers are a mix of Peacock Feathers, Spun Sugar, Dusty Concord, Fired Brick, Barn Door, Picked Raspberry and the leaves are Mowed Lawn and Peeled Paint. The sentiment "Bee Happy" I used Ripe Persimmon and Faded Jeans.  I used a Pentel Arts Waterbrush to do the watercoloring.

It's a shame that CTMH does not have Distress Inks. I love these distress inks and markers. And the colors are so vibrant! I am however going to purchase CTMH's watercolor pencils. They just got it back in stock and it's the first thing I will order tomorrow. I can't wait to play with those!

Here's what the stamp set looks like.

B1445 Happy Hive

Give A Lift

Today's card is inspire by the Balloon Ride theme of paper packs and coordinated stamp set. I've been so busy lately and while I haven't been able to create, trust me I'm still able to shop. And lately I've been watercoloring most of the time, starting from distress markers to watercolor pencils and now to actual watercolor. Anyway, I got sidetracked....

This card is made using Balloon Ride Scrapbooking WOTG. The stamp set however, I used Give A Lift instead. The balloon was stamped using Desert Sand ink if I remember correctly, the sentiment I used Saddle. I also brushed the edges with Vintage Photo distress ink from Tim Holtz. I used Prismacolor watercolor pencils to color in the balloon and flowers. At first I did not think about using watercolor. I started out thinking just dry would be fine, I just wanted to give it more oomph rather than just plain stamping it. But as I kept coloring I decided I'd like to give it a richer color, make it stand out more, and that's when I decided to add a bit of water. If I were to do this again, I would've used watercolor paper. But since I only used cardstock, you'll see some edges bled, and that's my mistake. It turned out a bit too orangey, but overall, I think it's not that bad. I personally liked how it turned out! Do you?

G1075 Balloon Ride WOTG

D1581 Give A Lift

Distress Markers - Watercolor

I've been trying my hand at the watercolor effect by using Tim Holtz Distress Markers. I signed up for Online Card Class Watercolor and have been experimenting a few of my stamps last weekend. Here's a couple I made.

The stamp set is from Crafter's Companion. It's from Angelica and Friends set, and she is Isobel. I used a mix of Tim Holtz Distress Markers - the dress is Picked Raspberry, the hair I think is Brushed Corduroy. The sky is Stormy Sky, and the accessories in Barn Door and Chipped Sapphire. The sun and sentiment are from a retired CTMH C1364 TLC stamp set. I used Mustard Seed on the sun. The grass is from Lawn Fawn and I used Crushed Olive. Instead of using a real brush, I used Pentel Water Brush, and I really can't tell you how awesome these brushes really are! You just have to try it for yourself! I love you easily in control you can be with the water, and it seems to just always be wet enough but not too wet. I just love it!

My apologies but I just don't remember the name of this stamp set. I've had this for awhile now and it's just sitting in a binder without its original packaging so I cannot remember what it's called. I'm pretty sure though that it's from Stampendous. It's a background cling floral stamp.

I used Mowed Lawn for the leaves, and for the flowers a mix of Worn Lipstick, Picked Raspberry, Tattered Rose, Tea Dye and Ripe Persimmon. I used Scattered Straw for the yellow halo-ish background effect.

I still need a lot of work, but for a beginner this is what I've come up with. I've been very busy lately and hopefully soon can post the reason why, so I haven't been creating a lot lately. I have yet to try watercolor pencils and have yet to christen my Spectrum Noir colored pencils! Oh how I wish I have time!! For now, this is what I've done.

Washi Quilt Card

I've seen a few quilt looking cards out there and thought I'd give it a try using Washi Tape instead of scrap paper. Unfortunately, I do not sew, have no idea how to, so coming up with a very quilt-like project is almost unrealistic. I gave it a shot though, and this is how it came out.

I learned that instead of taking a short cut and having a go at it, I should've probably measured each strip to make it uniform. And probably using the same size washi tape would help, but that's for another time.

I probably used about 5 types of Washi tape. Most of them from Queen and Co, a one from the clearance bin from Hobby Lobby.

Here are what I can still remember from Queen and Co.

Trendy Tape Flowers Pink, Green
Trendy Tape Dandelion

And from We R Memory Keepers
Washi Tape Brown - It's a 2 pack that has the floral design and woodgrain pattern

The sentiment was stamped from CTMH's Joyful Birthday using Ruby Ink. I inked the edges using Tim Holtz Distress Ink in Vintage Photo to distinguish it from the sea of Washi tape.

B1419 Joyful Birthday

Spectrum Noir Colored Pencils

I obviously have been on a shopping spree. My Spectrum Noir colored pencils just arrived too! So excited! It comes with a free DVD for some tutorials and practice and I can't wait to try it out. I got mine from Crafter's Companion. Check them out!

I love Spectrum Noir alcohol markers. I've been playing with Tim Holtz Distress Markers lately and now I have these colored pens. Hopefully I will get to try it out on some projects soon!

Kiwi Lane DT Tray

It's finally here!!!! Yay!!! Couldn't be any more excited and happy!!! I've owned the whole complete set of Kiwi Lane templates for awhile now and to be honest they are still in their plastic wrap. It's a pain to take them out and put them in again so I haven't been using it much. I use it a lot for scrapbooking pages, but now with this DT tray, I can finally take them all out within easy reach!! Took Kiwi Lane long enough to come up with this one! Got it the first time they released it, $75 and free shipping for Mother's Day.

This is very well made. I am very impressed at the wood working details. Edges are very smooth, paint job done very well, and just look at how precise the grooves are! I can't wait to start using it. First, I have to figure out where to put it, because I'm pretty sure my toddler's going to mess up my templates once it's within her reach!

Kudos to Kiwi Lane!

Lotus Theme Happy Birthday

I picked up this Hero Arts Lotus Stencil from Ellen Hutson a while back and haven't had the chance to play with it. I love how bold the pattern is and thought it would make a great background.  So I tried it this weekend, not really sure what kind of card to make. I used 2 kinds of orange on the flowers, Hero Arts Cantaloupe and Orange Soda. I wanted to stay on the same color but a different in different shades. The green leaves I used Hero Arts Soft Olive. I drew a blank after stenciling, and thought I'd add die cut flowers for dimension. As I was searching the Silhouette store, I was surprised to find Hero Arts has its own set of svg files, and this lotus pattern was one of them! I of course purchased it at once, hoping to add it to my project. I used Bazzill cardstock, not sure what color, to complement the orange shade.

I smudged some of the colors, and I apologize for the mess. The one negative I found about this particular stencil is that the plastic is so flimsy. Maybe there are some tricks out there on how to control the sponging of ink but the one thing that irritated me was that the plastic kept getting caught with the sponge. Either it's a material issue or the design forces it to be that way.

Since the card already has a pretty bold and loud background,  I just stamped a simple Happy Birthday sentiment at the bottom.

Below is the stamp set I used for the sentient.

B1419 Joyful Birthday

Apple Of My Eye

May's almost over and I haven't created much this week due to work. I feel like I've been away from all of my crafting stuff for what seems like forever. Since we only have a few more days before May is officially over, especially with Memorial Day weekend coming up, I thought I'd give the Free To Be Me paper collection and this month's Stamp of the Month another whim. 

Pretty simple and easy to put together, all papers are from the Free To Be Me constant campaign collection, and I stamped the sentiment from this month's Stamp of the Month. Final embellishments I used Triangle Studs in antique. And the ink I used is Indian Corn Blue.

I love this month's Stamp of the Month. Every sentiment is so cute, and versatile that you can use it for anything and everything! If I do find some more time, I'm hoping to create more using it, but even if not, this is one stamp set I'd be keeping for a long long time!

May Stamp of the Month

And below are some projects that showcase just how great this stamp set is!

Mother's Day

I wish I had more time to create more Mother's Day cards, but unfortunately, I can only squeeze in enough to create one for my mom and one for my aunt and another good friend whom I consider like a mom.

I used The Crafter's Workshop Daisy Cluster stencil to make the first card. I used a mix of Tim Holtz Distress Inks in Squeezed Lemonade, Shabby Shutters, Tattered Rose and Dried Marigold. I then added some gem and pearl embellishments and stamped the sentiment using Close to My Heart's Mother's Day stamp set. I love how the mix of colors turned out!

This second card uses Taylored Expressions Rose Bouquet. I colored it using my Spectrum Noir markers. I used JG1 and JG2 for the leaves, BT2 for the baby's breaths and a mix of CR5 and CR6 for the roses I think. The vase was colored using LY1 and LY2. I did this couple of days ago and now I'm not so sure. I sponged the outside of the oval shape die cut to give it an orangey halo effect. I used Tim Holtz Dried Marigold if i'm not mistaken. The sentiment was stamped using one of CTMH's Holiday Tags.

Happy Mother's Day!

This card is for my mom, the BEST mom in the world! This apron themed card is from the Silhouette Online Store. I used my leftover papers from Ivy Lane Cardmaking Kit to cut, and some scrap kraft papers to cut out the kitchen utensils.

Here's what the inside looks like. I added the extra cut of Colonial White cardstock so I could use that to write a message. I stamped the mom with a cake and sentiment using Mother's Day. I think it's just the perfect stamp for a kitchen/apron themed card. I added the B&T paper border to the left side for added decoration.

Here's what the stamp set looks like:

C1577 Mother's Day

And here's the Ivy Lane Cardmaking Kit:

G1079 Ivy Lane Cardmaking Kit

You've Got A Friend!

I finally got my CTMH order and I can't wait to use this month's SOTM (Stamp of the Month). I made this card using Ivy Lane Cardmaking Kit. My base layer cardstock uses the Cocoa paper, then I layered it using one of the B&T papers. I cut 3.25" circle on both and used the other side of the B&T paper to fill in the whole. I wanted to show the nice contrast and feature Ivy Lane's design. I then striped the top paper design and made it into like a ribbon. But instead of wasting a whole strip I just cut small pieces to fit the top and bottom.

I stamped the sentiment "You've Got A Friend" in Chocolate ink onto Colonial White cardstock and embellished the 4 corners with the accessories that came with the kit. The kit also comes with a gold shimmer trim which I punched using a regular puncher. I then used the small circles to adorn the outside of the circle. I guess I wanted to give the sentiment a better highlight. You can't see it much from the frontal shot so I took a closer shot at it. It looks much better in person since you can see the glitter more. Unfortunately the gold shimmer trim only comes with the Ivy Lane Cardmaking Kit. How I wish I could purchase it separately!

Anyways, this month's feature Stamp of the Month - You've Got A Friend is now available and it's only $5 with a qualifying purchase of $50! More posts to come using this stamp set as it has so much cool and fun designs!

Here's a closer look so you can see the glitter.

May 2014 Stamp of the Month - You've Got A Friend

Teacup Flowers

I've had a coloring spree yesterday and thought I'd make a batch of cards that's any-occasion. I used the Taylored Expressions Teacup Bouquet and colored it in different colors. These flowers are so versatile, I guess any flowers are, so I used the different sentiments from a Sizzix stamp set. Unfortunately I can't remember where I got it from or the name of the stamp set.

The images are colored using my Spectrum Noir markers. They're a mix from the pink, purple, yellow, red and coral families. The background papers are from kI Memories and I embossed it using my Cricut Cuttlebug.

Free To Be Me Blog Hop

It's National Scrapbooking Day today and in honor of that Close to My Heart has a special paper collection out this month to celebrate. A group of us ladies are doing a blog hop to feature this amazing theme so if you've come from Kristine Ponte's amazing blog, then you're on the right track! Sit back and I hope you enjoy my creations featuring this Free To Be Me paper collection. I so love this and made 3 cards so far.

For my first card I used the stamp set Feathers and cut them out. The ink colors I used are Cranberry, Bamboo and Lagoon. I wanted to highlight the colors and feather design of the paper and thought this stamp set complements it perfectly! For the sentiment I used the Cricut Art Philosophy Seasons Cricut Collection stamp set that comes with the Art Philosophy cartridge.  I embellished the top with Sparkles Brown and Tan Assortment and the bottom with Teal shimmer trim.

My second card uses the red UV Coated paper for background, and I layered it with Barn Red cardstock before adding the Free to Be Me design on top of it. I made it a bit longer so I can draw white the lines for the 'road'.  I used Camper Crazy stamp set for this card and colored in the RV. The sentiment was stamped using regular Black ink and I sponged the sides of the paper with Creme Brulee ink.

Last but not the least, this paper speaks volumes so I wanted to make it as simple as possible. I cut a piece of  leftover Twilight cardstock and stamped the sentiment from Windy Day stamp set. I adhered 3 Black Epoxy Bubbles and attached a ribbon I have from scraps. I made a tiny bow so it looks cleaner.

Here's a complete look of all the fabulous papers in this collection.

• 6 – Free to Be Me B&T Duos™ Papers 
• 2 – UV-Coated, Designed Teal Cardstock Sheets 
• 2 – UV-Coated, Designed Red Cardstock Sheets
• 2 – UV-Coated, Designed Gold Cardstock Sheets 
• 1 – White Feather Print Vellum Sheet
• 1 – Gold Foil Polka-dot Print Vellum Sheet

Featured colors: Gold, Mint, Peach, Red, Teal, Tan, White Daisy 

Remember, these fabulous fabulous papers are just $5 when you qualifying purchase reach $50. Take advantage of this deal right now! You won't regret it! Visit my store at shabbychiccrafting.ctmh.com or leave me a message if you're interested! I promise you will fall in love with these papers too!

I hope you've enjoyed my creations. Now it's time to keep hopping and next stop is Haley Dyer's wonderful blog! Happy National Scrapbooking Day everyone! Thanks for hopping!

May Is National Scrapbooking Month

May is National Scrapbooking Month and Close to My Heart has a special treat to celebrate this month. During National Scrapbooking Month in May, you can get the Free to Be Me paper collection for just $5 with your qualifying purchase of $50. The paper collection features artfully designed cardstocks, vellums, and B&T Duos™ papers—exclusive products that you can’t getanywhere else! With a retail value of $11.95, this collection is a fantastic deal!

I have created some cards with it and I just have to say, you will fall in love with these papers. I love them so much I already stocked up on them!! I love the UV coated papers that come with it, the colors are so vibrant and it just screams "Create! Create! Create!"

If you're interested to get your hands on this amazing deal, please leave me a comment!

Amazing!

I'm so glad it's the weekend again and I can spend some time creating. May is National Scrapbooking Month and I'm so excited by all the projects, giveaways and activities everywhere.

For today's card I used Balloon Ride paper pack. This is my first time to use this paper and I'm in love with it! I swear I will use every single design and every square inch of it!!! The designs are fabulous!! I have yet to use the Give A Lift stamp set that complements the theme of this paper pack. But that's for another day. For this card, I used Juniper cardstock as the base, then layered it with B&T from Balloon Ride. The bottom portion of the card was embossed using my Cuttlebug, Cricut Swiss Dots folder I believe. The butterfly and sentiment were stamped using Chocolate ink, and they're both from the Love This stamp set. I just love how simple and elegant the design is of this stamp set. I used Spectrum Noir markers to color my butterfly, I believe in PP4 and PP5, IB1 and IB2.

I used Sparkles Brown & Tan Assortment to go around the layered die cut background. I wanted the butterfly in the middle to stand out and thought those sparkles will do a great job showing it. How I wish there was a die for the word "Amazing", but since it doesn't, I had to manually cut it, so I apologize if it looks a bit crooked.

Hope you enjoy it!