Love these monkeys!!!

OK, don't get too excited just because I'm posting 2 days in a row. I don't expect it to happen too often, unfortunately. I got 2 challenges out of one card this time! The first is Dawn's Raspberry Suite Color Challenge, and the second is Taylor's Cupcake Challenge.

The colors were just so fresh and wonderful that I couldn't wait to use them together, and I thought my new Changito monkeys would be fun to use with it. This set that I just got from Kate at i {heart} papers has the monkeys holding the empty sign, and LOTS of different words to put inside it!

I used my Copics to color the image, and to airbrush the teal flower and the brown brad in the center. Unfortunately, my Memento ink seems to have disappeared under a pile of "stuff" somewhere, so I used Versafine instead, and it didn't hold up to the Copics quite as well.

What I used:
Stamps: Changito Notes
Ink: Versafine black, Copic markers
Paper: PTI White, Certainly Celery, Taken With Teal, Chocolate Chip
Other: Cuttlebug Swiss Dots embossing folder, flowers, brad

A Special Card for a Special Person

I spent more time on this card than I usually do these days. Partly because I started without a real plan, using a product I never had before, and partly because it needed to be special. It's for someone who's facing a bit of a challenge right now, and who needs a little extra-special love.

I used some new goodies I just got from Kate at i {heart} papers. That beautiful, delicate patterned paper is from the Basic Grey Porcelain pad. And the exquisite curves and piercing are courtesy of the Spellbinders Ric Rac Scalloped Pierceabilities. It was very easy to use, and I used it every which way I could. I cut, embossed and pierced the bottom edge of the card front, and used it as a stencil to sponge some color onto the embossed areas. Then I used the edge of it to cut the patterned paper so it would fit right up against the top edge of the design. The front of the card actually ends at the white scalloped edge, which I sponged a little to define. The patterned paper at the bottom is actually a strip on the bottom of the inside of the card.

I used the Ribbon Tags Trio Nestabilities to cut the sentiment, again using the die as a mask for sponging, and further sponging the edges for a little contrast.

What I used:
Stamps: Damask Designs (PTI)
Ink: Always Artichoke (SU)
Paper: PTI White, Basic Grey Porcelain 6x6 pad, Mellow Moss
Other: Ric Rac Scalloped Pierceabilities, Ribbon Tags Trio, Martha Stewart butterfly punch, New Leaf satin ribbon (PTI), bling

Have a wonderful weekend, and show a little extra love to someone special.

Let them eat cake!

Wow, I've had a very productive weekend — a big change from the sloth-like one I had last week. But then, I knew that the next several weekends would be full of projects and activities, so I was really just resting up (yeah...). This weekend I made a little more than half of the 100 wedding invitations that I'm doing for my daughter's friend. I'll show those to you another time.

But my other project this weekend was this birthday cake for the office. My boss and one of my co-workers have birthdays 2 days apart, so they get to share it. I'm really enjoying my foray into cake decorating, which will culminate in four short weeks with the wedding cake I'm making for my son and soon-to-be daughter-in-law. As a trial recipe run for that cake, this spring-like one is a yellow cake with chocolate hazelnut buttercream filling. It has a light coating of buttercream under the fondant covering. The branches are made of the same chocolate hazelnut filling, just smoothed out with a bit of chocolate syrup, and the flowers are made of gum paste.

Now to go clean up the awful mess in my kitchen. Somehow, no matter how hard I try, I just can't keep ahead of it...

i {heart} papers March Sketch Challenge

This month the i {heart} papers design team was given a sketch challenge by team member Kendra Wietstock. I loved the simplicity of this sketch, although I'm sure it could be gussied up as fancy as you wanted it to be.

I decided to put the focus on the beautiful papers that Kate has in the store now -- these are from the SEI Bridgeport collection. You can see in the picture how some elements of the paper are shiny embossed, and how shimmery the ribbon is.


What I used:
Stamps: Birthday Cupcake
Ink: Palette Noir
Paper: Garden Tour, Bordeaux, Springside (yes, I used the "B" side of this gorgeous paper!)
Other: Nestabilities, Lime Glimmer Ribbon, Eva glazed brads (could also use Bittersweet brads)

Check out Kate and the rest of the design team throughout the day to see their takes on the sketch. And feel free join in the fun yourself! Kendra is running a CONTEST on her blog using this sketch, and she'll be giving away a PRIZE!!!!

Sarah Anderson
Cathleen Torina
Loretta Lock
Amber Kroening
Kendra Wietstock
Lori Tecler
Deb Felts
Tracy Schultz
Meredith Socha
Dee Jackson

French Country Fruit

I was practicing with my Copics this weekend, using these delightful Lockhart stamps, among others. The colors and designs just sort of reminded me of the French Country style that I like so much, so I decided to make a set of three cards using them.

The blue check paper is from the SU! Patterns Pack II, and the red dots are from the Papertrey 2008 Bitty Dots pad.

Here are close-ups of the three cards. They all use a slightly different setup, although they use the exact same supplies.



They are very simple cards, with ribbon and bling conspicuously absent, but they make me happy!

What I used:
Stamps: Lockhart cherries, strawberries, apples
Ink: Memento black, Copic markers
Paper: PTI white, SU! Yoyo Yellow, DP mentioned above
Other: Fiskars border punch, Nestabilities Labels II

Mojo Bunnies

A bunch of my daughter's friends are having babies soon, so she asked me for a few cards. After all, what good is having a mom who makes cards if you can't call on her for a few now and then? So I decided, once again, to use Julee's Mojo Monday sketch as inspiration for a couple of them.

My go-to stamp of choice for baby cards is this adorable bunny from a retired Stampin' Up set, A New Little Someone. I also used various SU designer papers for these. That cute lacy strip going up the middle is cut from a sheet of various lace strips called Petticoat (s.e.i.) that I got from Kate and i {heart} papers. The bunnies are colored with Copic markers, and the accents are painted with Candle Light Shimmerz. The ribbon on top is from Papertrey Ink.