OCC Color Challenge - Patriotic Sprinkle

This week our new July hostess, which is ME has issued the Color Challenge of “Red, White and Blue" as your color combo. What else could I do for today? It is the Fourth of July! It does not have to be Patriotic Themed -- and you can can use any shades of those colors that inspire you. Head to the OCC Blog for all the details.

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This week as a treat for playing in the OCC Challenge we have one of the very swanky and Newly Released sets from The Cat's Pajamas - "Happy Camper" that will be awarded to someone that joins in this week's challenge. A very big Thank you to Alma at The Cat's Pajamas for hosting this week's prize and for creating some seriously swanky stamps for our stamping pleasure! To enter for your chance to win you have to create a card and leave a link/comment to your creation on the OCC Blog!

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We also have a Guest Designer with us for this week, my stamp pal Sandy Hulsart, who maintains TWO blogs! One for her delightful card creations that she colors expertly with Copics: Creative Moments with Sandy and the other blog is dedicated to her amazing talent creating Stampscapes Scenes ...Scenes by Sandy. Thank you Sandy for playing along with us this week!

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So please join us, get your stamps and Go Get Inky! For a close up view on the OCC's great projects for this week please visit the OCC Ladies on their blogs -Silke Ledlow, Cindy Haffner, Jennifer Meyer, Frances Byrne, Vicki Garrett, Loretta Lock and Joycelyn Turner.

-------------------------------------Some might say that this new Fleur de Lis Pendant Die from Spellbinders is too fancy for little Sprinkle, but I say nothing is too fancy for Sprinkle in her Fourth of July Holiday garb! My new Spellbinder's dies landed today (WOOOOHOOO!) and I HAD to use this one ASAP! I think it can be very fancy and fun too! Ms. Sprinkle has her Holiday Hat on today and sends Happy Fourth of July Wishes out to you all! This die is really limitless in how you can use the elements whole and or cut them, back the openings with other colors.... well, suffice to say that I like it! I knew it would be a little busy so I kept the stamps and layers other than the pendant pretty simple. I added my usual doodles where I could. I know Baja Breeze and Riding Hood Red are goners, but I am having some separation anxiety and can not put them away yet. Finished card size is 5" Square. Everybody --have a Happy and Safe Fourth of July!

• Stamps: All Stamps by The Cat's Pajamas
• Ink: Baja Breeze, Versafine Onyx Black
• Paper: Baja Breeze, Riding Hood Red, Neenah Classic Crest Solar White
• Other: Baja Breeze Ribbon, Riding Hood Red Ribbon, Red Micron Pen, Black Micron Pen, Crystals, Copics/ABS, Cuttlebug Swiss Dots, Spellbinder's Fleur de Lis Pendant

Stamp Simply #94 - Stars and Stripes

Stamp Simply #94 - July 3 - ssnotime94 - Stars and Stripes - Making a patriotic card is totally OK, but you NEED NOT make your card patriotic. As long as you have some stars and stripes somewhere in your creation, we will call you good to go! Upload your project to Splitcoast and use the keyword "ssnotime94". Head to Sharon's blog No Time to Stamp to see her creation for today and get all the details for the challenge.

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Please check out the great samples for the Stamp Simply Challenge today on the blogs of these totally creative designers: Rose Ann Reynolds - July's Guest Designer, Janine, Jennifer, Julie, AJ, Tammy, Barbara and Deb. We are all uploading and linking Thursday night-- so bear with us as we coordinate the links!
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I have some patriotic cards in the works for upcoming posts -- so I chose not to do a patriotic card for this challenge. I went Bold and Bright with my card! Are you reaching for your sunglasses? Or is too late and I have ruined your vision permanently? The striped paper is from one of those fun DCWV Stacks and the white stripe has a little shimmer and glimmer going on. I tried to match the shimmer on the Blue star by cuttlebugging it and then using my baby brayer to add some Silver Encore ink over the embossed portions.... it looks better in person. The extra layers on the stars and the label 2 nestie were hand trimmed using scissors. I paired it up with some Kiwi Kiss ribbon and bling in the corners to embellish. I airbrushed the yellow on the sentiment to match the yellow stripe in the DP. Doodles all around. Finished card is an A2. Click on the pics to enlarge.

• Stamps: Stamp is by SU "Sweet Thing"
• Ink: Pacific Point Blue, Encore Silver
• Paper: Kiwi Kiss, So Saffron, Misc. Blue, Curious Cryogen White, DP by DCWV
• Other: Spellbinder's Stars, Spellbinder's Labels Two, Kiwi Kiss Ribbon by SU, Blue Crystals, SU Slot Punch, Fine Tip Green Pen, White Signo Pen, Cuttlebug Folder

A Guy's card...

The DT for Impression Obsession has two challenges a month and we create something with the chosen theme and then share it on our blogs. Today's theme was to create a Masculine Card. Please check out these links to everyone's blog to see what the Impression Obsession DT ladies created for today... Daniela Dobson - Laura Fulcher - Dina Kowal - Deborah March - Kelli Richardson - Shirley Ross - Jeanne Streiff.

You are all invited to enter your creations for the Greetings for "Guys in Our Life" Challenge and any future challenges we have too. Below is how to enter your card so it can be posted on the Impression-Obsession Blog and in the gallery located there just for I/O customers:

• Use Impression-Obsession stamps for your card.
• Email the card to Shirley, our webmaster at shirleyone@carolina.rr.com.
• Every week cards will be selected to be showcased on the I/O blog and in the Customer Gallery there too.
• This challenge will be open until Sunday, July 5. Go get Inky!!!

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I tried to keep this card toned down a bit, after all it's supposed to be a guy card. I stamped the Golf-Tini randomly and colored with my Copics. I did a little airbrushing to take the bright whiteness away. I used a Copic and Red Micron Pen to create my border around the stamped panel. I made a little pocket holder for the card - thinking it might be neat to attach it to the front of a plain kraft gift bag. To make the bow and top bunch of crazy strings - I first created a slip knot of jute strings through the eyelet. It looked a little lacking, so I added a bow made from multiple strands of the jute string, using the Bow Easy Tool. With my extra DP I went ahead and added a little decorative strip down the inside. I used Black Rainbow Tape 1/16" Width to cover the paper seams on the pocket envelope and also on the inside panel of the card. Click on the pics for a better up close view.
And..... a shout out of Thanks to my AWESOME readers for the abundance of very nice comments you guys leave me -- I really appreciate hearing from and knowing that someone besides my Step-Mother is actually reading!!!

• Stamps: All Stamps by Impression Obsession
• Ink: Memento Tuxedo Black, Versafine Onyx Black
• Paper: Misc. Plaid DP, Riding Hood Red, Black, Curious Cryogen White
• Other: Copics/ABS, Spellbinder's Classic Ovals, Jute String, Bow Easy Tool, Red Micron Pen, Eyelet

Shabby Train

I had to have this set immediately when I saw it in the SU catalog.... a year ago. Then I found this perfect paper last fall from Graphic 45. I am just now getting a card made with it. I love this train image. I inked it up with Baja Breeze first then pounced some black ink over that to get the multi colors on my image. I cut it out with my Spellbinder's Labels Small, and added a few doodles around the edge. I lightly airbrushed some Grey around the train while it was still in the Nestie. Then I matted it to the grey and pulled out the needle and stitched some Skinny jute string around the border. I meant it to be random and uneven -- just in case you were

thinking my sewing was really really bad!!! I added the kraft paper behind the image as the final layer and roughed up the edges with my scissors, adding to the shabby feel. I am showing off pics of the inside and the envelope as well.... This is the PERFECT way to use the scraps from your card creations. I often will line the envelopes with the remaining DP, but I saw a card from my Step-Mother where she added the edge of DP on the envelope and really liked it. So I copied her idea! Thanks Barb! Finished card is 5 3/4" Square.

• Stamps: Friends Word Block by Hero Arts # c3002, Train Image by SU "Happiness is a Journey" Set
• Ink: Baja Breeze, Black
• Paper: Train DP by Graphic 45 "I think I can" #450037, Baja Breeze, Neenah Environment Ivory, Gray, Kraft
• Other: Photo Corners Punch by SU, Spellbinder's Labels Small, Skinny Natural Jute from Sharon, Buttons by SU

Skinny Silk Ribbon "Tutorial/Tips"

When I find something I like and I seem to use it often.... I want to share it with you guys. Sometimes I ramble on with descriptions of what I have done to a card, other times I'm quick like a bunny and don't share any of the deets. So, I am putting together this little picture tutorial to share a couple of things that people have asked me about...

• 1/8" Silk Ribbon - coloring it with Copics, the Bow Easy, adding extra bow tails
• How I adhere small things like bows and crystals to my cards

Please remember I stamp and color in the lines -- I am not a photographer! So don't make fun of my amateur pictures. Please click on any picture to enlarge the view.

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1/8" Silk Ribbon is really skinny, but it is not difficult to work with. In fact, it is easier to use a smaller ribbon with the Bow Easy than a wider ribbon. Lately I have been coloring a lot of ribbon with my Copics. As much as I love all my ribbon, my collection is growing a bit out of control.... so I have a spool of the White Silk Ribbon in different widths from Sharon and I am now using it more than anything else.... It ties beautifully, multiple loops are very easy with the Silk because it is so light. It colors easily for the same reason. Sharon sells the silk by the spool and the yard in 1/8", 1/4" and 1.25".

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After coloring up the ribbon, I used my Bow Easy Tool to make a triple loop bow. Another advantage to the Silk Ribbon is that it cinches down so nice and tight in the center. You need to play with the bow's tails pulling them and adjusting them- while the bow is still on the Bow Easy to tighten the tails. If you take it off to tighten the bow, you risk messing up your perfectly matching loops.

Are you asking "What is the Bow Easy"?
Please discover this amazing inexpensive little tool by using these links:

Bow Easy Picture Tutorial by Sharon Johnson
Bow Easy Video Tutorial by Jerri Kay Jimenez
Buy the Bow Easy for $6!

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This is a view of the backside of the bow - the tails come from behind the bow. While your bow is still on the Bow Easy, take another piece of your ribbon and thread it through the legs of the Bow Easy, you want to keep the pretty front of your bow - so make sure the flat part of the ribbon is in the front, or under your knot as shown in the picture.

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Tie a knot with your extra piece of ribbon, the new "extra tails" are coming out towards the bottom and your knot will be hidden in the back of the bow. Repeat this for as many extra tails as you want to add.

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This is the bow flipped over- showing the front view. The center knot
is still nice and clean.

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After you have tightened the tails appropriately, and added any extra tails you might want, then you can slide your bow off the Bow Easy.

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I use Crafter's Pick Ultimate Glue to adhere my bows as well as anything and everything else to my cards. It is by far my most favorite glue ever! It goes on white, dries quickly, absolutely clear and things do not fall off later. I have taken the glue from it's original large bottle and transferred a small amount in to a little airtight jar, I use a toothpick to get a little drop and put the glue exactly where it needs to go. This prevents a big gloppy mess plopping out from the large bottle. You can use an old embossing powder container, film canister... Doing it like this is just easier to control and keeps things neat.

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I do exactly the same thing when I adhere little gems.... using a toothpick to put a dab of glue just where it needs to go.

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These little micro crystals are non adhesive and to pick them up from the container, I give it a little poke with my craft knife and it picks right up, then I can place it exactly where it needs to go, the glue grabs and holds it wherever you put it.

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I usually wait until the end before I trim the bow tails, so I can see exactly where I want to cut them off in relationship to my images.

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The cat of course, must have final "bow" approval, sometimes he helps fluff it up a bit.
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He also has to approve of the final card.

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I inked my image and sentiment in Crushed Curry, then I added a little Real Red... which turned brown, wasn't what I intended, but I went with it! I used my Spellbinder's Peony Nesties to frame the image, with the brown layers of the Peony Shapes being hand trimmed. A little soft airbrushing, some score lines made with my Scor Pal, Cuttlebug Action in the background, and some little detail dots. Finished card size is an A7.

• Stamps: Font of You by SU, Sentiment from PaperTrey
• Ink: Crushed Curry, Real Read
• Paper: Misc. DP, Neenah Classic Crest White, So Saffron, Olive, Brown
• Other: Spellbinder's Peony, Spellbinder's Petite Ovals, Silk 1/8 Ribbon from Sharon, Bow Easy, Mini Crystals, Copics/ABS, Brown Micron Pen

OCC Sketch Challenge - Margarita Time!

It's Saturday! Time for the OCC Challenge! For this week’s challenge Jennifer has provided us with a fun sketch to get the creative juices flowing. Check out the OCC Blog to see what goodies are up for grabs this week and all the details of how you can enter to win. So please join us, get your stamps and Go Get Inky! For a close up view on the OCC's great projects for this week please visit the OCC Ladies on their blogs -Silke Ledlow, Cindy Haffner, Jennifer Meyer, Frances Byrne, Vicki Garrett, Loretta Lock and Joycelyn Turner.

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Yes, I know, the elements of my card are off a bit in comparison to the Sketch. That is what happens when you go from memory and don't print it out. When will I ever learn? This card was FUN. I have been cranking out the summer cards lately, as it still blazing HOT here, and I guess the summer heat is sparking the ideas. Lots of doodles and dots on this card. I started with the large Polka Dot paper from Rubber Soul and built my card around that. I added the black circles to each large dot with a Micron Pen. The right side of the card was created with the "Happy Summer" sentiment stamp, a Micron Pen and Copics, adding some small polka dots and high lighting the words. I used my Spellbinder's Labels Small to frame my Margarita image -- and liberally dressed the edges up with Copics and a Micron. I added some layers of card stock and used decorative scissors for the little jagged edge on the green. The tag was created doing the same thing, but coloring the entire oval with the Copics and then adding some White Gel Pen. I added some bling to the stem of the glass and a little glitter glue on the rim of the glass to mimic salt. The last element was a coat of Crystal Lacquer over the glass. By the time I was done, all I was thinking about was Mexican Food and a cool Frozen Margarita. Click on the pics for a close up view. Finished card size is an A2.

• Stamps: Margarita Image #24G017 by DRS, Happy Summer #646B by Savvy Stamps
• Ink: Memento Tuxedo Black
• Paper: Large Lemon/Lime Polka Dots by Rubber Soul "Hoopla" Collection, Green, Yellow, Neenah Classic Crest Solar White, Black
• Other: Misc. Ribbon, Bow Easy Tool, Crystals and Black Pearls, Copics/ABS, Spellbinders Labels Small, Decorative Scissors "Small Pinking", Crystal Lacquer, Glitter Glue, Black .005 Micron Pen

Soft and Sweet - Lily of the Valley

My VERY exciting news to share today is that I am now a "regular" with Sharon and the talented crew for the Stamp Simply Challenges every Friday. I enjoyed my guest spot with them soooo much in April. I am thrilled to be joining them each week going forward!

Stamp Simply #93 - This weeks challenge is a double -- Sharon asks us to use the colors Sky Blue and Grass Green and to use piercing on our projects. Upload your project to Splitcoast and use the keyword "ssnotime93". Head to Sharon's blog No Time to Stamp to see her creation for today and get all the details for the challenge.

Please check out the great samples for the Stamp Simply Challenge today on the blogs of these totally creative designers: Sabrina, June's Guest Designer, Janine, Jennifer, Julie, AJ, Tammy, Barbara and Deb. We are all uploading and linking Thursday night-- so bear with us as we coordinate the links!
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These are not colors I would have reached for on my own -- which is exactly why I love challenges. I do really like how the colors paired up. I colored the "Lily of the Valley" image with Copics and added a little soft airbrushing to the edges. I used my Scor-Pal to create the criss-cross embossed pattern and dropped a teeny little pearl in each cross point. I pierced the border around my Labels 4 Nestie, it looks like my usual little dots -- but it is tiny little holes! I added the eyelets and ribbon tags along one edge. The little blue bow is embroidery floss and the four loop bow was created with the Bow Easy. One bow tail seems to have a mind of his own and is sticking out kinda funny. Of course, I did not notice until after I had my picture already edited and loaded in Blogger! A little cuttlebug action in the background with my fave folder "Textile". Finished card is an A2.

• Stamps: All stamps by Repeat Impressions - Lily of the Valley #4308-J, Just a Note #2512-E
• Ink: Memento Tuxedo Black, Versafine Onyx Black
• Paper: DP by SU, Soft Sky, Neenah Environment Ivory, Green
• Other: Copics/ABS, Teeny Pearls, Scor-Pal, Eyelets, Embroidery Floss, Bow Easy Tool, Misc. Ribbon, Black Micron Pen, Misc. Green Cording, Paper Piercer, Cuttlebug Textile Folder, Spellbinder's Labels Two

Summer Sprinkle

Sprinkle is hittin' the Beach! It's still hot as ever here in Atlanta, the poor air conditioner runs non-stop. My stamp room gets the afternoon sun, so I feel like a roasting chicken in there. The other option is wait until the sun goes down to stamp and it cools off... which makes me seem like a vampire. But no matter.... Sprinkle always brings a smile! I added a little airbrushing and colored the scene with Copics. I used a Spellbinder's Tag for the Sentiment, but then trimmed one side off using a decorative edged scissor. The paper was so busy, I felt if I added my usual doodles, dots and ribbon I might blind someone. So I opted to keep it on the simpler side. lol! Finished card size is an A2.

Oh... and to keep you coming back.... Thursday night's post should bring some fun news AND as if that tease was not enough.... Monday, I have a tutorial coming your way. A tutorial on what you ask? Well, I am sharing some FAQ tips about my bows, silk ribbon, and some Krafty Kat secrets of how I do things! So you better come back and check it out!

• Stamps: All Stamps by The Cat's Pajamas
• Ink: Memento Tuxedo Black, Versafine Onyx Black
• Paper: Misc. Floral DP, So Saffron, Olive, Neenah Classic Crest Solar White, Black, Purely Pomegranate
• Other: Spellbinder's Classic Rectangles, Decorative Scissors, Spellbinder's Tags, Brad, Copics/ABS, Pink Fine Tip Pen

Baby Boy Buttons

Repeat Impressions recently came out with a new line of stamps called Quartets. They are square stamps that contain four smaller squares of related images. There are 12 different Quartet Stamps in the latest release! The possibilities to create different cards with one stamp is endless, use one square, two, punch them out and line them up.... anything. Today I am showing off the "Button Quartet". Want to see more samples of the Quartets and maybe win something to boot? Head to Sandy's Blog to see what she created. Then go to Robin's Blog to see what she came up with! One of them has some Celebration Blog Candy up for grabs today!

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To create my card, I inked up the stamp with Baja Breeze, then added some Not Quite Navy to it by just tapping it here and there to mix the colors. I used needle and thread -- did you fall out of your chair?? I think I threaded more buttons on this card than I have in my entire life. I pre-pricked holes in the paper to make it easier to get the needle through the card stock. I threaded the Skinny Jute string through all the buttons..... I love that stuff! I added some dots and doodles, also I used a light blue/green Copic around the edges of the buttons to just take the hard edge off. Then I stamped some extra of two panels and added some layers behind them to mix it up a little. I used my Bow Easy to create the tiny little embroidery floss bows. Finished card size is 5" Square.

• Stamps: Button Quartet by Repeat Impressions
• Ink: Baja Breeze, Not Quite Navy
• Paper: Baja Breeze, Not Quite Navy, Neenah Classic Crest Solar White, Kraft
• Other: Skinny Jute String from Sharon, Small Blue Crystals, White Gel Pen, Label Punch from SU, Spellbinder's Circle Nesites, Brown Pen, Dk Blue Pen, Blue Embroidery Floss, Copic, Bow Easy

Christmas Kitty

This is a quickie Holiday card. I stamped the cat image in black and Airbrushed some green around the image. I left the paper in the Nestie while I airbrushed to get the white border around the image. The hat is colored with Copics and I added white Liquid Applique to give the white areas some dimension. The sentiment I stamped in red, outlined with a .05 Micron Pen, and airbrushed a little blue in the background. I layered with additional circles and scalloped circles underneath. I added the bow (made with the Bow Easy) and pearls to finish the card. Final card size is an A2.

• Stamps: All Stamps by Coronado Island; Small Cap Right #1169-AA, Hugs & Kisses Sentiment #117807-DX, Kitty1 #1194-E
• Ink: Versafine Onyx Black, Riding Hood Red by SU, Memento Tuxedo Black
• Paper: DP by Pinecone Press, Neenah Classic Crest Solar White, Black, Red, Green, Blue
• Other: Spellbinder's Classic Squares and Classic Circles, Pearls, Liquid Applique, .05 Micron Black Pen, Ticket Corner Punch by SU, Ribbon by SU, Copics/ABS