Mo's Challenge # 16

Shades of Gray

This is my DT card for Mo's Challenge #16.

This week our hostess, Lisa Cook, asked that we use all shades of gray for our creations. Everything must be gray, including the image. I was a bit intimidated at the thought, until I remembered Mo's "The Tramp", and decided on doing a card with a silent movie theme.  I used a film strip stamp and stamped "Happy Birthday" in all the frames. I made the movie reel, layering several CS circles, then added the black and white gingham ribbon to look as if the film were unwinding. I Googled images of tickets, then printed them out in gray. The scrolls are a die cut from Quickcutz. I think they give it the right look, as there were always scrolls on the dialogue frames in the old-time movies.  I came up with the sentiment and printed it using the computer. Inside it continues, "but I'm not talking!". I finished it off with a few black mini brads.

I feel as if this challenge really tested my skills and imagination, but I really like how it turned out!.

Now let's see what you'll come up with!


Love Birds!

I really like this image! It's available free to members of Mo's Digital Pencil  SNR and PCP groups. I erased the original "Home, Sweet Home" using a card program, and put in my own wording.
I colored it with Copics and cut it out with my Cuttlebug and Nesties. I backed it with a doiley and mounted it on Basic Grey Eskimo Kisses DP using 3M mounting tape.
The flower was made using the Stampin' Up! scalloped circle punch and two smaller punches for the center. The branches were made with a Martha Stewart punch.
The hearts were made by gluing SU! Groovy Guava card stock onto lightweight cardboard (I use cereal boxes!), and were cut out with my Cuttlebug and a heart die. I used mounting tape for them, also.
It's finished off with satin ribbon, a Martha Stewart punched border, and some pearl cabochons. It's an unusual color combination, but I think it works.
The mini birdhouses are from my collection, and the carved purple finch (our State Bird) was a gift from my husband, years ago.

Apples and Pears!

A Card for My Husband

When I saw this image on this coloring book site I knew it would make the perfect Valentine's Day card for my husband of almost 44 years!

I colored it with Copics and drew in the designs by hand. The argyle DP is by Basic Grey, the white is PTI, and the SU! card stock is Kiwi Kiss and a retired color called Rose Romance, which picks up the touch of rose in the DP. The epoxy heart stickers are from my stash and were just the right color.

The sentiment is computer-generated. It continues on the inside, "...I guess we're stuck with each other! Happy Valentine's Day!"

You're probably wondering what the apples and pears in the title and picture have to do with this. Well, the snakes reminded me of one of my husband's frequent comments. Whenever the subject of Adam & Eve comes up, he likes to joke that, "It wasn't the apple in the tree that started all the trouble....it was the pair on the ground!"

"Contain" Yourself!

Card Display Box

I made this little box to display 5" by 7" Valentine's Day cards that I sell at work.

It's really quite simple to make and takes one sheet of 12" by 12" card stock. I reinforced it with a lightweight cardboard liner. You can find the tutorial here.

I decorated it using Nestibilities daisy dies and Martha Stewart punches.

It holds several cards nicely, and I think it makes an eye-catching display. I had so much fun making it that I'll be making more for other holidays. I think it would also make a pretty gift presentation, too.

Mo's Challenge #15

Not My Favorite Color!

Our hostess at Mo's Challenge for this month, Lisa Cook, asked us to use Almost Amethyst, Bashful Blue, and Elegant Eggplant for our cards this week.

I really have a difficult time using purples. I rarely use it unless it's required in a challenge. In fact, I still have almost full packs of all the different  shades of  purple card stock I bought from SU! years ago! That being said, I really love this card! Of course, the image is wonderful (I never met an image from Mo's Digital Pencil that I didn't like!), but I think these particular colors work very well together.

I had a lot of fun making the bachelor buttons. I just layered several different punched flowers and secured them with a brad. The leaves are a Martha Stewart punch.

I love using the 'out-of-the-box' technique, and it worked perfectly with Alice, having her dress blowing out of the frame. It gives the card a feeling of movement.

The 'love' charm is is from Walmart's wedding section....I've found a lot of inexpensive charms there.

As you can imagine, Alice is at a tea party! The tiny table was handcrafted by an artisan whose work was available at the Shaker Village in Canterbury New Hampshire. (It's a wonderful place to visit if you're ever in the area!)  The miniature teacup is part of a sweet little set from my collection of miniatures.

A Little More Love!

I've been busy with Valentine's Day cards, even though I don't have many Valentine images.

Ragged and Funny!

This one uses a Raggedy Andy coloring book page. I've always loved the Raggedy dolls..I even used to make and sell them. Not many of them were bought for children, though. It seems that there are a lot of other women who love them, too!

This one is colored with Copics and Prismacolor pencils. The CS is from Stampin! Up, and the polka dot DP is from Basic Grey. The punches are from Martha Stewart, except for the corner elements, which are the negative cutouts from a Corner Adorner punch. The sentiment is computer-generated.

The miniature Andy is from my collection and was hand-made by a local New Hampshire doll maker. The tiny jointed teddy bear and miniature Radio Flyer are also part of my collection of tiny things.

Best Friends!

This one uses a freebie image from Mo's Digital Pencil called "Bella Hearts Bronte". She is also colored with Copics and Prismacolor  pencils. SU! card stock (Mambo Melon, Mauve Mist, and Pirouette Pink) was used and  embossed with my Cuddlebug and embossing folders, but the white CS is from Papertrey Ink. MS punches add a touch of frill, and it's finished off with some buttons and Primas with heart brads for their centers. This sentiment is also computer-generated.


Clean Sweep!

Here's another Mo image, "Cinderella".  She's not a Valentine image, but I drew some tiny hearts for her to sweep up. The inside says, "You've swept me off my feet!"

 SU! and Bazzil textured card stock was used. The heart paper is from Design Originals. She's also colored with Copics and Prismas. Ribbon, Dew Drops, Prima daisies, heart brads, and the MS branch punch were used for embellishments. This sentiment was also computer-generated.


So Shy!

I love this Mo image! She's one of a set of four called "Shy Valentines".
All the information is the same as for the other cards. This one is embellished with satin ribbon and lace, which I sewed on, a silk daisy and some acrylic heart stickers from Target's Dollar Spot from a few years ago. The striped paper is from Making Memories.
The teddy bear was a gift from my little granddaughter.

Special Delivery!

This last card uses another Mo image,  also not a Valentine image. I just cut a slit along the bag and inserted some punched hearts to cover the acorns he was toting. I accented some elements with a clear Spica pen, but I couldn't get a photo to show the shine. The materials are essentially the same as for the other cards. I don't remember who makes the DP. I used my Nesties and a Martha Stewart lace punch for frill. It's finished off with a satin bow and small heart charm.

The card is resting  on a silk flower lei from our last trip to Hawaii. (We're planning to go again in 2012!)

Mo's Challenge #14

Let's Have Tea!

Our challenge was to use one of  Mo's images in a great sketch designed by
this week's DT hostess, Lisa Cook.

I made a 5" x 7" card using 'Tea Time'.....she's all dressed up in Mom's best and ready for tea.

The DP is from Basic Grey's Lemonade collection.

I colored her with Copics, cut her out, and popped her up on an oval Nesties panel using mounting tape.

The two rose CS panels were embossed with different embossing folders.

The yellow rose is from Prima's Trellis Rose collection, and the leaves were

made with Martha Stewart's leaf punch.

The little floral teapot is from my collection of miniatures.

Join us for the fun this week in Mo's Challenge.

We'll be looking for you!

For the Guys

 A Masculine Sensibility

I know that most people have a hard time when it comes to making cards for men, but I love doing them! I'm not a frilly, lacy type, so those very feminine cards are the ones I fret over. I guess I enjoy making masculine cards because of the simpler lines and deep, richer colors.

This one uses the fisherman from Mo's Digital Pencil. I'd been searching for the perfect fishing image for years, but could never find one that I really loved...until I saw this one! I used Copics for the image and Prismacolor pencils and OMS for the sky. It was a joy to color, and great for all the anglers out there.

I needed some kind of simple embellishment, so I did a Google search for a black and white line drawing of trout and found a free clip-art image. It was just one fish, so I layered them using my PrintMaster program to look like a string of trout. I colored them with Copics, covered them with Versa Mark and clear embossing powder and gave them a blast from my heat gun, so they'd look wet. I 'hung' them from a loopy brad that I had colored with Copics to look like hammered metal. I added some photo corners made with a Stampin' Up! punch to finish it off.

The heavyweight, textured striped DP is 28th Street Market by My Mind's Eye, the brown textured paper is from Bazzill, and the gray is from SU!. I use PaperTrey Ink white to print off all my images.

An Early Start

I Love Valentine's Day!

I love the colors, the hearts and cupids, the lace and flowers, and the chocolate....I love it all!

I had a chance to color and put a couple of cards together over the past few days. I want to make sure I get all my personal cards done early, especially those for our grandchildren.

This one uses a sweet new image from Mo's Digital Pencil called "James".

He is from her series of  four cuties called "Shy Valentines". I colored him with Copics and shaded around him with Prismacolor pencils, although the scan washed it out. The paper is from Basic Grey's "Sugar Rush" collection. The flowers were made with Martha Stewart's hydrangea and leaf punches. The heart border is an MS punch, too.I added a bit of sparkle with a glittery heart I got at Target's Dollar Spot a few years ago.

This cute dragon is a free coloring book page from Elizabeth O. Dulemba, who, like Mo Manning, is a children's book illustrator. Her free images are for personal use only, but I believe she now has a line of rubber stamps. Unfortunately, I don't know the name of the company that manufactures them.
The image was also colored with Copics. The sentiment is computer-generated. I used my Cuttlebug to emboss the panel of red card stock, and the green hearts are another Dollar Spot find.
I'll have "Nessa", another "Shy Valentine", finished and uploaded tomorrow.

Triskaidekaphobia!

Mo's Lucky 13 Challenge!

The fear of the number 13 is triskaidekaphobia...now that's a real mouthful!

No need to fear this number 13! It's Mo's thirteenth challenge! Our hostess this month is Lisa Cook, and she's challenged us to make a birthday card using any one of Mo's fabulous images.

I've used two for this card....the pile of presents from "Bronte Wants it Now" and  the image of Bella (minus Bronte!) from "Hoppin' Happy". They were cropped and printed using my PrintWorks program. The cake is a digital image that I believe I got from a coloring book site. 

The images were colored with Copics. I used the "out-of-the-box' technique for the main image so that she looks as if she's jumping out of the frame. The main panel and the sentiment tag were popped up using mounting tape, and I used large dimensional dots to pop up the cake. If I recall correctly the DP is from Bo Bunny's  Rob & Bob collection, but I've had it for so long that I'm not sure. The card stock is from Stampin' Up!.

Now don't be you afraid of the number 13! Hop over to Mo's Challenge Blog to enter a birthday card for a chance to win a wonderful  image from Mo! 

Magnetic Calendars

What Day is It?

I had so much fun making the calendar for Mo's "New Beginning" Challenge that I just had to make more!

I'll be giving these as "Thank You" gifts when I get back to school on Monday.

All the images are from Mo's Digital Pencil. The ducks were cropped  from her "Duck Day" image of a little girl with an umbrella. The little girls with their dolls are from a two image set called "Winter & Spring", and the little girl heading off to school is her "Prairie Girl".

All the patterned paper is from Basic Grey. I love their 6" x 6" paper packs...they are my 'go-to' papers for most cards. All the card stock is from Stampin' Up! except for the PaperTrey Ink white. I don't like to use anything else for digital images and Copics. I have some SU! and some Georgia pacific that I'm trying to use up for dry embossing

I colored them using Copics and Prisma Pencils, and embellished each of them a bit differently. My wired gingham bow got a bit squished in the scanner but it was easy enough to fluff it up again.

I saw another style of calendar that I want to try next. It was made as an easel card and could sit on a desk. I'll be working on those over the coming week.

Here is the calendar template.