Mo's Challenge # 42

Christmas in July!

 I had originally planned a sewing challenge for this, my last week as hostess for Mo's Challenge. Then Mo drew some wonderful new Christmas images that I couldn't wait to color, so I  changed the theme to Christmas in July! Besides, I think we could all use a reason to get an early start on our Christmas cards.

          

      This sweet image is called Pammy's Stocking", and she's available at Mo's Store.

I really enjoyed coloring her in  traditional holiday  colors.  I did make a mistake while coloring  her, though. I  noticed, while coloring her hair, that I had colored her head band, too. 

While fixing my error, the red marker left little spots on the gold shading on the left of the image.  Aaaargh!   The blender ink lightened it a bit, but also smeared it. I figure there's a way to fix almost everything, so I took a red Prismacolor pencil and went over the smudge and the gold shading. I don't like it as well, but did manage to salvage the card. 

  Images: Pammy's Stocking from Mo's Digital Pencil, Holly Leaves and Berries from D Z Doodles

Papers: SU! Riding Hood Red, Garden Green, PTI white

Tools: Copics, Prismacolor pencils, White gel pen, Gold Spica pen, Cuttlebug with embossing folder mounting tape

Embellishments: Red pearl cabochons, Gingham ribbon, Joy charm 

 Baby's Christmas Quilt

  

 

 I love quilts so I thought I'd make one using up my ever-growing stash of scraps.  I cut 1 and 1/4" squares of mostly Basic Grey DP and glued them down on a 4 and 1/2" x 6 and 1/2" piece of vanilla CS. I left a gap just wide enough to finish off with the ribbon. To make it look even more like a quilt I 'tacked' it using a needle and red embroidery floss. I also added 'stitching' with a white gel pen. I mounted this on to a 6 and 3/4" by 4 and 3/4" piece of Real Red then onto a 5" x 7" vanilla card base. I think it would be a perfect card for a baby's first Christmas.

Images: "I Love It" from Mo Manning's Digital Pencil Too, Sentiment from SU!'s "Warm Words"

Papers: PTI Vanilla, SU!'s Real Red, Scraps of Basic Grey and SU!

Tools: Copics, Cuttlebug with Nesties, Mounting tape, SU! oval punch, White gel pen, Needle, Floss

Embellishments: Satin Ribbon, SU! Vintage Hardware

Isn't this the greatest image!? I just love the look on his face. I used the plaid from the new Basic Grey "Oliver" 6x6 pad as my color inspiration. I would never have put these colors together on my own, but I love the combination on this card. The tiny snowflakes are the punch-outs from the Martha Stewart Snowflake border punch.

Images: "Who, Me?" from Mo's Digital Pencil Too, Holly Sprig from DZ Doodles

Papers: SU! Blue Bayou, Riding Hood Red, and Whisper White, Basic Grey "Oliver" DP

Tools: Copics, Prismacolor pencils, Cuttlebug with Embossing folder, MS Snowflake punch,and Snowflake border punch, Mounting tape

Embellishments: Red pearl cabochons, Rhinestone brads, Ice Stickles glitter

We'd love to see your Christmas cards using Mo's images! 

Enter Mo's Challenge this week for a chance to win one of her sweet images.

Thanks for stopping by!

Elaine

More Digital Images

A Vintage Image


I check the Digital Two for Tuesday Blog every week or so. She posts at least two free vintage images each week. The subjects run the gamut from nursery rhymes to fashion through the decades to old autos, so I'm sure you'll find something to your liking there.

This is an image I downloaded quite some time ago....it looks to me as if it's from the 20's or 30's. She gets a lot of her images from old children's  books. She also sells vintage images in clear stamps.

Image: Digital Two For Tuesday

Papers: SU! Pacific Point, Bashful Blue, Whisper White, Basic Grey DP

Tools: Cuttlebug with Nesties, Paper crimper, MS branch punch, Nellie Snellen embossing leaf punch set, Tacky Tape, Glue dots, Mounting tape

Embellishments: Prima flowers, String of pearls, Buttons, Bird charm, Ribbon


Thanks for stopping by!
Elaine

The English Countryside

I came across a new digital company, Just Inklined, on Lydia's Blog recently. Of course, I had to check them out and found this pretty image (and a few others!) that I had to have. I'm not usually fond of scenic stamps, but I needed something other than flowers for sympathy cards, and this looked so serene and inviting.

Images: Scene from Just Inklined, Sentiment from PrintWorks, SU! Itty Bitty Backgrounds 

Inks: Gold metallic, VersaMark, SU! Creamy Caramel, Basic Gray

Papers: SU! Garden Green and Certainly Celery, PTI Vanilla, Gold metallic

Tools: Cuttlebug with Nestie label die, Gold EP, Glue dots, Mounting tape, Nellie Snellen embossing leaf punch set, Heat gun

Embellishments: Pearl Cabochons, Flowers from Wild Orchid Crafts

Mo's Challenge #41

Paper-Piecing

 For this week's challenge, I'd love to see you try your hand at paper-piecing. Don't be afraid...it's really not that difficult!

Alice in Blue

 

"Alice in Pencil" is probably one of my favorite images. Okay...one of my many favorites of Mo's! I can't seem to stop myself from using the "Out of the Box" technique on her dress...it enhances the 'wind-blown' effect so nicely. Her plain apron makes her a great choice for paper-piecing, too. I like to use up my scraps when I do this technique rather than printing on a full sheet of DP. I do this by first printing my images as usual. Without changing my settings, I then take a piece of computer paper, place it over the printed image and, taping my scrap piece onto the computer paper over the part of the image to be pieced,  run this computer paper through the printer.
I color my image first,  then carefully cut out the desired parts from the DP and adhere them on the colored image with a thin layer of glue. I like the effect of highlighting the DP with a slightly darker shade of Copic marker. This gives the finished product more depth.
I really love this card! Blue and yellow always make me happy, and I think I'm getting closer to achieving the look of shiny satin ribbon, something I've been working towards.


Image: "Alice in Pencil" from Mo's Digital Pencil
Tools: Copics, Scissors, Glue dots, Cuttlebug with Swiss Dots embossing folder, Nellie Snellen embossing leaf punch set
Papers: SU! Bashful  Blue, Barely Banana (ret.), Certainly Celery, PTI white, Basic Grey DP
Embellishments: Flowers from Wild Orchid Crafts, Pearl cabochons, Grosgrain ribbon


Ode to Joy

I love this graceful image, "Tuesday's Child" from Mo's Children of the Week series. This is another one that's perfect for the piecing technique. I used up a lot of scraps on this card, but the pile still seems to grow whenever I turn my back on it!

Images: "Tuesday's Child from Mo's Digital Pencil, Warm Words sentiment from SU!
Tools: Copics, SU! Oval punches, Quickcutz Swirl die, Nellie Snellen Embossing punch leaf set, MS border punch, Multiliner pen, White gel pen, Glue dots
Papers: SU! Rose Romance (ret.), Mauve Mist (ret.), Barely Banana (ret.), Wild Wasabi, PTI white, Basic Grey Urban Prairie DP, Unknown polka dot DP
Embellishments, Pearl cabochons, Prima roses


Off to School

This little cutie, Prairie Girl  comes with both a floral and a plain dress. Mo did the plain version specifically for use with the paper-piecing technique.
The image was printed once on white card stock and again on the lightweight plaid paper. I colored the parts of the image that were not going to be covered with the plaid, then cut out all the pieces of the dress and hat using tiny sharp scissors. The pieces were then glued on to the colored image, taking care to line them up carefully. I used a Copic marker slightly darker than the plaid to shade parts of the dress and hat, then softened the edges  using the blending marker.

You'll find many images in Mo's store that will work well with this technique.
I hope you'll  give it a try!

Image: Plain "Prairie Girl" from Mo's Digital Pencil

Card stock: SU! Rich Razzleberry, Wild Wasabi, Barely Banana (ret.), PTI white

Patterned paper: Basic Grey Kioshi, Digital plaid paper

Tools: Copics, Prismacolor pencils, Nellie Snellen embossing punches (Flowers), Slice with Vintage Findings design card, Martha Stewart Border and Butterfly punches, Corner rounder punch, Scissors, Glue, Mounting tape
 Embellishments: Gold cabochons, Mini brads, Grosgrain ribbons, Gold wire

Looking forward to seeing what you come up with!
Elaine

A Non-Challenge!

You Sew n' Sew!

I made this card for what was going to be my last challenge as hostess, but changed my mind and came up with something simpler for you to do for the last week in July. That, of course, will be announced later.

The theme was to be real or faux sewing, and this card has it covered two ways...the DP has a pattern of various decorative stitches, and I sewed on the ribbon and lace frame with a sewing machine. My stitching is a bit wonky, but, unfortunately, there are no re-dos when sewing on paper!

This sweet image draws the eye, so I hope no one will notice.

Image: "End of Summer" from Mo's Digital Pencil

Tools: Copics, Prismacolor pencils, White Gel pen, Corner rounder, Tacky Tape, Sewing machine

Papers: SU! Pumpkin Pie, More Mustard, PTI white, Cosmo Cricket Material Girl DP

Embellishments: Satin ribbon, Ruffled gingham trim from Reasonable Ribbons, Ruffled lace, Flowers from Wild Orchid Crafts, Butterfly and other beads, Pearl-headed pin. 

Thanks for stopping by! Why not try your hand at sewing for my "non-challenge"?

Elaine

It's Rainin' Men!

Mo's Challenge # 40

My challenge for you this week is to make a card for the guys using one (or more!) of Mo's  images!

I know a lot of you have trouble making masculine cards....you can't use all your flowery, lacy embellishments and shiny bling on a card for a man!

They aren't really all that difficult, though. Starting with one of Mo's great images makes the job easier! Most of the time pastel hues don't work, but darker, stronger, or bolder  tones are perfect. Replace your flower print papers with plaids, checks, or geometric patterns. I do use ribbon but I keep away from bows and use strips of coordinating ribbon instead. Brads and manly metal charms are wonderful as accents. Texture is great....use dry embossing, but go masculine....diamond plate, argyle, herringbone, etc. There are many border punches that can be used. I particularly like Martha Stewart's Zig Zag punch. Her fence and Checkerboard punches would be good, too, just  think straight, clean lines.

I have several masculine cards that I hope will inspire you. I've had fun using Mo's guys of all ages!

We are a basketball family....my husband and I both played when we were young.  He coached a 5th and 6th grade team at our local school for ages, long after our kids had gone on to play on the regional high school team. Both our boys and our daughter played varsity ball there. Now our three young grandchildren are playing, too. You can see why I had to have this image!


Basketball Jones

 

Image: Slam Dunk C from Mo's Digital Pencil, SU! Canvas BG stamp
Papers: SU! Garden Green, Old Orange, Pumpkin Pie, River Rock, PTI white, Basic Grey DP, Recycled corrugated cardboard

Tools: Copics, Prismacolor Pencil, White gel pen, Cuttlebug with Nesties & Embossing folder, Embossing stylus, Mounting tape

Embellishments: Brads


Second Childhood

I love this image so much! It always makes me think of my husband, who, at 69, is still just a big kid who loves to have fun! 

Image: The Engineer from Mo's Digital Pencil, Lanterns from High Hopes, SU! Ticking, Computer-generated sentiment

Paper: SU! Going Gray, Pacific Point, Confetti White, Brocade Blue, PTI White

Tools: Copics, MS Zig-Zag punch, Mounting Tape, Sewing Machine

Embellishments: Mini brads

Radical!

This dude looks like so many young boys out there, baggy pants and all! After this was finished, I wished I'd used paper-piecing and given him a tie-dye tee shirt using that psychedelic Basic Grey paper!

I just had to buy that little skateboard when I saw it...I'm such a sucker for miniatures! I bought a tiny bike at the same time.

Image: Simon from Mo's Digital Pencil, Computer Sentiment from TLC

Card stock: SU! Green Galore, Yo-yo Yellow, Only Orange, PTI White, Basic Grey DP

  Tools: Copics, MS Daisy punch, White gel pen

Embellishments: Square brads

His Turn to Cook!

 The Big Guy doesn't really look like any of the men in my family, but I love him just the same! My husband love to grill, as most men seem to. He even cooks our Thanksgiving turkey in his Weber!

Images: The Big Guy Grilling from Mo's Digital Pencil, Hamburger stamp from Hambo, Sentiment from TLC

Papres: SU! Garden Green, Wild Wasabi, River Rock, Ballet Blue, PTI White, Basic Grey DP

Tools: Copics, Prismacolor pencils, Cuttlebug with Argyle embossing folder and Nestie oval, Mounting tape

Embellishments: Brads


 I've shown you mine, now you show us yours! LOL!
Create something wonderful for the man (or men) in your life and enter it in Mo's Challenge for a chance to win one of Mo's unique images.
Can't wait to see what you'll do!
Elaine

Mo's Challenge # 39

Fun in the Sun!

I think you'll find my challenge this week a little easier than last week's! Just think 'fun in the sun'....any Mo's image that evokes summer fun will do! I made two cards that fit the criteria.

For the first, I chose "Pool Party", a cute image of Bella & Bronte ready for a swim. I had fun combining it with a few other images to create a beach scene.
I tore the CS to create the 'water' and 'sand' and used Flower Soft for the 'clouds' and 'sea foam'. A stamp from the SU! Itty Bitty Borders set was used to create the look of sand by stamping repeatedly with several shades of brown and gold inks.

Digital images: "Pool Party" from Mo's Digital Pencil, Palm tree from The Digi Doodle Shop, Crab from a coloring book site

Card Stock: SU! Soft Sky, Cool Caribbean, Gable Green, Barely Banana, Tempting Turquoise, Taken with Teal, Yo-Yo Yellow. PTI White

Tools: Copics, Scissor, White gel pen, Assorted brown SU! ink pads, Scissors, Mounting tape, Glue dots

Embellishments: Flower Soft, Plastic shell charms

Stamps: SU! Itty Bitty Backgrounds, Hero Arts sentiment, Eat Cake Graphics smiling sun

 For the second card I used  Mo's "Lacie with Ice Cream". Isn't she the cutest thing?!

Card Stock: SU! Barely Banana, Melon Mambo, Rose Red, PTI White

Patterned Paper: Basic Grey Cupcake

Tools: Copics, White gel pen, Cuttlebug with Embossing folder, Mounting tape

Embellishments: Grosgrain ribbons


Have fun with this and enter to win a fabulous image from Mo's shop!
We're waiting to see your Idea of summer fun!

Mo's Challenge #38

This Grandma's Rockin'!

This is my first week as hostess for Mo's Challenge! I hope you'll enjoy the challenges I've planned for you. 

For this week I'm asking that you use fabric on your card in some way other than as a bow, and , of course, use one of Mo's wonderful images. Use patchwork, make flowers...use your imagination and get creative!

The image I chose is Mo's "Mummu and Me". I reminds me of my granddaughter and me. Although I'm no longer able to dance, we have fun stamping and coloring, and sometimes cooking and baking together. 

For my card, I made a padded fabric frame. I cut a piece of sturdy chipboard 4 1/2" x 6 1/2", cut an oval out of the middle using my Cuttlebug with an oval Nestie die. It didn't cut all the way through, so I finished the cut with an Xacto knife. I glued two layers of low loft batting over that, cutting out the oval and trimming it close to the chipboard all around. I cut a piece of calico fabric about 1/2" larger than the batting and base. I pulled it taut on all sides and secured it with ScorTape. I cut a cross in the fabric over the oval opening, then snipped the oval in several places almost to the chipboard, then trimmed it to about a 1/2" overlap. These edges were pulled taut and secured with ScorTape, also. 

I cut  a piece of red card stock 4 3/4" x 6 3/4" and cut a slightly smaller oval in that to create a narrow reveal around my image. I mounted the frame on top of the red piece and my image behind. I adhered the whole thing to a 5" x 7" white card and added a paper easel to the back so that the card could stand on its own.

Image: Mummu and Me by Mo Manning

Card stock: SU! Real Red, PTI white

Tools: Copics, Cuttlebug with Mega Oval Nesties, ScorTape (Lots!)

Embellishments: Pearl cabochons, Small crocheted flowers and paper leaves (Wild Orchid Crafts), Small ribbon roses

Additional items: Fabric, Low loft batting, Chipboard

Now it's time for you to get busy and create something wonderful!

We'll be looking forward to seeing what you'll do!