Cardabilities Sketch #26

Can you believe today is the last day of February already?? This year is just flying by so fast. It's time for another Cardabilities sketch, so here is sketch #26:

I decided to do something a little different, and I did one big rainbow instead of three smaller half circles on the right side of the card. I picked the colors out of the designer paper I used and colored the rainbow and the hot air balloon in purples and greens. How's this for a non-traditional birthday card?

This card will go to someone who loves purple. :-) Why don't you check out what the other Cardabilities DT gals have done over on the Cardabilities blog? There's so many fantastic takes on this sketch! I hope you join in on the fun and come on back here on March 15 for sketch #27. :-)

Stamps: Up Up & Away (PTI)
Ink: Tuxedo Black Memento
CS: white, lilac, Lilac Avenue (Kaisercraft)
Other: copic markers, balloon and cloud dies (PTI)

Heart Song Designs - NEW RELEASE (Feb 27, 2011)

Ready to see today's new releases for Heart Song Designs? This time Leah has created two adorable springtime digis:

Isn't that bunny just adorable??? I will be sharing a card created with that bunny later on this week, so check back on Wednesday for that. Today, however, I am sharing a card with the Butterfly Thistle.

I pulled out an Oval Window A7 Scallop card - Vertical die cut from Purple Bazzill cardstock (Creative Cuts and More) and embossed the sentiment with white embossing powder directly to the front of the card. I colored the Butterfly Thistle digi using a fun technique called Pencilled Twinks (from Technique Junkies) except I morphed the technique by using Creative Inspirations Paint. You can see the wonderful shimmer here:

I added a couple of butterflies (from the Butterfly Duet digi also from Heart Song Designs) and curled their wings slightly for a little added dimension. Isn't it great how the different digi images work together here? The advantage of digis is that you can make these images any size you want, just like I did with the two added butterflies.

Check out what the rest of the DT gals have created with these new digis, and then head on over to the Heart Song Designs shop to purchase these digis. Have a great week!

Leah (owner) - Paper Blossoms

Ceal - Simply Beautiful

Chris - Creating with Chrissy

Davi - Alstromeria's Artistry

Deb - Little Works of Art

Holly - Glitter, Stamps, Ink (me)
Karen - Feline Creative
Katrina - Flutterby Trina

Lauren - LEM Photography & Papercrafting

Peggy - Daily Grace Creations

Ruby - Ruby's Impressions

Shelly - Shell's Space

Stephanie - Stephanie's Stampin Spot

Week 4 with Gingersnap Creations

This is my fourth and last week with Gingersnap Creations, and this week is all about a color challenge. The Gingersnap girls picked Jewel Colors with Gold for this challenge. For the month of February, the Gingersnap Creations DT has an overall theme of Royalty with a focus on adding shimmer and sparkle to their art for each of the weekly challenges.

As I thought about Jewel Colors, images of sapphires, rubies, emeralds, and diamonds came to mind. Then I saw this swirly egg image sitting on my table, and my mind just screamed, "Faberge eggs!" How perfect to tie in jewel colors, gold, and a royal theme than with the royal Faberge eggs created for the Czar of Russia?

I stamped the egg three times with Versamark, poured gold embossing powder on them, and heated the powder til it melted. Then I colored each egg with the Jewel colors of Creative Inspirations Paint - Sapphire, Garnet, and Emerald. (Too perfect, eh??)

I added a fleur de lis brad and a red bow on the top of the Garnet Faberge egg, and I used the Curled Corners technique on the white cardstock. Some pearls and gold scallops finish off this detailed card. You can see the shimmer of the paint in this close-up picture:

I want to thank the Gingersnap Creations team for inviting me to be a Visiting Artist this month. These challenges definitely stretched me and challenged me to think outside my normal range of stamping, and I have had a total blast. The Gingersnap gals do some AWESOME work, and I am honored to be able to share my artwork with them this month.


Stamps: Small Swirl Egg from I Brake for Stamps (use code SAVE10HOLLY to save 10% off your order)
Ink: Versamark
CS: White, Black, Gold
Creative Inspirations Paint: Sapphire, Garnet, Emerald
Other: gold embossing powder, wrinkled red ribbon (May Arts), fleur de lis brad (The Paper Studio), pearls (Kaisercraft), Embossed Curve edge punch (EK Success)
Technique: Curled Corners (Technique Junkies)

Birthday Flowers in Vase

I need to stock up on birthday cards again and this digi image from Heart Song Designs is perfect for feminine birthday cards. I colored this Vase of Flowers with Copic markers and then sponged a little kraft ink around the edges. I kept this card sweet and simple with some pink and kraft cardstock, and I added a little scalloped strip of kraft cardstock for a little extra interest.

Heart Song Designs released some new digis yesterday, so be sure to check them out by scrolling down to the next post. Leah has opened up a new Flickr gallery and new samples are added frequently. Go check it out here. Enjoy all the great eye candy!!

Heart Song Designs - NEW RELEASE (Feb 20, 2011)

It's Sunday, which means there are some new digis in the Heart Song Designs store today! Ready to see 'em??

That new St. Patty's Daydream scene is so adorable, and it's just in time for you to get some projects done for the holiday next month. The colored digi is great for when you don't have time to color something - just print it on your color printer and add it to your project. I created a fun card with the first digi - Blooming Stars.

I used Sketch #96 from the Sweet Stop Sketches blog and I used the Dabbed Shimmers technique from Technique Junkies for the background. I colored the image with Copic markers and then went over the star flowers and butterflies with a glitter pen. A white gel pen provided the little white circles within the star flowers.

See the fantastic shimmer in the pale lavender background? I used some Lavender Creative Inspirations Paint to created the Dabbed Shimmers background.

You should see what some of the other Heart Song Designs DT gals have created with today's new releases. Click on their names below to check out their artwork:

Leah (owner) - Paper Blossoms

Chris - Creating with Chrissy

Deb - Little Works of Art

Holly - Glitter, Stamps, Ink (me)
Karen - Feline Creative
Katrina - Flutterby Trina

Lauren - LEM Photography & Papercrafting

Peggy - Daily Grace Creations

Ruby - Ruby's Impressions

Shelly - Shell's Space

Stephanie - Stephanie's Stampin Spot

Have fun shopping in the Heart Song Designs store! Enjoy your Sunday!

Week 3 with Gingersnap Creations

This is my third week with Gingersnap Creations, and this week is all about an inspiration challenge. The Gingersnap girls picked "crowns" as the inspiration for this challenge. For the month of February, the Gingersnap Creations DT has an overall theme of Royalty with a focus on adding shimmer and sparkle to their art for each of the weekly challenges.

I will be honest and tell you that I freaked out when I saw that "crowns" was the challenge this week. I don't have any crown stamps, I don't collect crown charms, what am I supposed to do?? I actually went "shopping" in my Mom's craft room for crown stamps, and I did find a couple. But when I was cleaning up my own studio on Saturday afternoon, I ran across my old Tim Holtz grungeboard that I haven't used in ages. Lo and behold, there is a crown shape within the 5 sheets of grungeboard.

When I sat down to create my card, I just wasn't inspired by the stamps that I "stole" from my mother. My mind kept wandering back to the grungeboard crown. This bird collage stamp from I Brake for Stamps was out on my table, and an old song popped into my head - "4 and 20 blackbirds baked in a pie, when the pie was opened, the birds began to sing, wasn't that a lovely thing to set before the king?"

Okay, so the bird is blue, not black, but this challenge is all about inspiration and seeing where it leads you. I painted the grungeboard crown and swirl with some Gold Creative Inspirations Paint, and I added a blue rhinestone brad to the center of the crown.

Do you recognize the gold mesh in the background? Remember the big Magic Mesh craze from a few years ago? I stocked up on several different colors of mesh and it was fun to pull it out and use it here. I distressed all the edges and used the Torn Frames technique from Technique Junkies on the blue layer behind the bird. I love the contrast of the lace versus the hemp twine, the gold paint versus the distressed edges.

Would you like to play along with the Gingersnap Creations challenge? Create something that fits the inspiration challenge with crowns, add some sparkle, and enter it into the challenge over on the Gingersnap Creations blog. Come on back next Wednesday to see my last creation as a Visiting Artist with Gingersnap Creations.


Stamps: Bird and Cherry Blossom collage from I Brake for Stamps - use code SAVE10HOLLY to save 10% off your order
Ink: Marina Mist, Antique Linen distress
CS: Marina Mist, White, Soft Suede
Creative Inspirations Paint: Gold
Other: May Arts lace, hemp twine, Tim Holtz grungeboard, blue rhinestone brad, gold Magic Mesh, distress tool, sponge
Technique: Torn Frames from Technique Junkies

IBFS & Reasonable Ribbon projects

Happy Tuesday! I Brake for Stamps is sponsoring the February 15th "Spring" Challenge over on the Really Reasonable Ribbon blog today. I had a blast working with some ribbons and some stamps and bringing them together for two special projects.

My first project is a spring-themed card with this sweet Miss Rachel in the Garden stamp and some pink and white gingham ribbon (7/8").

I colored in Miss Rachel's dress to match the pink ribbon, and then added my own "gingham" lines to her little apron. After I cut this image out, I used the Wisped Frames technique from Technique Junkies. I'm in love with this gorgeous ribbon; it was so easy to tie into a bow and this soft pink is such a perfect spring color.

My second project is a bookmark. I used a length of this 5/8" Random Circles Light Blue Grosgrain ribbon and added some die cut circles and ovals to the top and bottom.

Isn't that a fun bookmark? I stamped the butterfly from I Brake for Stamps's Things with Wings sheet and colored it with Copic markers. I also added a row of blue rhinestones to the body for a little sparkle. The sentiment is from the Every Day Phrases sheet, and I used the Wisped Frames technique around it.

If you've been wishing for Spring and making some fun spring projects, why don't you play along with the "Spring" challenge on the Reasonable Ribbon blog? Maybe we can usher in a quicker start for some warmer spring days! :-)

If you're in the mood to shop, check out all the fabulous ribbons at Really Reasonable Ribbon. I literally drooled just looking at everything and I wanted to put one of everything in my shopping cart. Want some new stamps? Use this coupon code - SAVE10HOLLY - to save 10% off your order when you go shopping at I Brake for Stamps.