For Family

Born on Flag Day!

Our youngest boy was born on June 14th, Flag Day, so I usually make a card with a patriotic theme for his birthday. This year I've used an image from Elizabeth O. Dulemba. Since his beloved Red Sox are finally on a winning streak, this image is doubly appropriate!

Like Mo, Elizabeth illustrates children's books. She offers free digital images for personal use on her web site.....a new one every Tuesday. I've tried unsuccessfully to get her to sell her digital  images. Although she's declined, she has made a few of her designs available as rubber stamps. I don't use stamps much any more, so I have to settle for using her images only on cards I give to  family and friends.

Images: "Independence Day" from Elizabeth O. Dulemba, Digital sentiment 

Tools: Copics, Cuttlebug with Embossing folder, Mounting tape, Black Multi-Liner pen

Papers: SU! Real Red, Brilliant Blue, Neenah smooth white

Embellishments: Star brads, Denim ribbon, Gingham ribbon

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Getting Older Isn't for Sissies!

My daughter-in-law,  wife of the above-mentioned son, turned 40 back in April, and wasn't too happy about it. LOL! She didn't want any of us to acknowledge it at all. So, I've waited until now to give her a gift  and this card.

Inside it says, "A very Happy Un-birthday to you, to you!"

I hope she takes it in the spirit in which it's given. I figured she must be over it by now!

I hope the bright colors will make her smile!

Image: "The Hatter" from Mo's Digital Pencil

Tools: Copics, Cuttlebug with Marrianne die, Nellie Snellen embossing leaf punch set

Papers: SU! Real Red, Tempting Turquoise, Neenah smooth white, MME Stella Rose DP

I've entered this in the Cupcake Inspiration Challenge

 Thanks for taking a look....I love having you stop by!

Elaine

Mo's Challenge #69

No Red or Pink?!

Cathy's given us a real challenge for this week! I love red, pink, and white Valentine's Day cards, but that's a 'no-no' for this week.....we had to make a Valentine in non-traditional colors!

I was really worried about this one, but I think it turned out well.

I've used "Alice With Present".  I just love this image....it's so versatile, so sweet, and a dream to color!

Images: "Alice With Present" from Mo's Digital Pencil

Tools: Copics, Prismacolor pencil, Cuttlebug with Oval Nestie, Tacky Tape,  Mounting tape

Papers: SU! Cool Caribbean, Certainly Celery, Neenah smooth white, Basic Grey DP

Embellishments: Grosgrain ribbon, Heart charm, Pearl cabochons, Ruffled lace, Lace trim, Mini hearts from MS border punch

So, let's see your non-conformist Valentine cards! Remember....NO red or pink!

Good luck!

Elaine

Thoughts of Spring

I'm a little tired of all the snow we've been having here in New Hampshire, and I'm not the one who has to shovel or plow it!  My husband does, but he skis, so he welcomes snow, even with all the extra work.
When he asked me to make a Get Well card for an elderly aunt, I jumped at the chance to make something to remind me that spring will come eventually!

I love the colors in this, but I'm not completely happy with the design. I wish I'd put the bow on the other side...it would have been in better balance. Because of the way I attach bows, I wasn't able to change it.

Images: Vintage image from Digital Two for Tuesday,  Dollar sentiment stamp from Michaels

Tools: Copics, Prismacolor pencils, Cuttlebug with Craft Concepts embossing folder and Nesties and Marianne dies, Martha Stewart leaf punch, Circle punches, Mounting tape, Tacky Tape

Papers: SU! Sage Shadow and Bashful Blue, Neenah smooth white, PTI white

Embellishments: Roses and Lace from Wild Orchid Crafts, Grosgrain ribbon, Dragonfly charm, Pearl cabochons

Mo's Challenge #60!

Royal Flush!

Our challenge this week is to use "Glitz and Glitter". I chose to use Mo's great image,  "Queen of Hearts" from her Alice in Wonderland series. This old battle-axe is large and in charge!

 

The glitz comes from the gold metallic swirls, and the glitter, though not really visible in the photo, is from black and gold Spica pens, that give it just a hint of shine. I hope to get a better picture if the sun ever shines around here again!

Inside it says, "Not another birthday! Guess you'll just have to 'deal' with  it!"

Images: "Queen of Hearts" from Mo's Digital Pencil, Computer-generated sentiment

Tools: Copics, Prismacolor pencil, Read and black Spica pens, Cuttlebug with Quickcutz swirl die, SU! Oval punch, Martha Stewart Heart border punch

Papers: SU! Real Red, and Basic Black, Neenah smooth white, Gold Metallic CS

Embellishments: Mini playing cards, Gold brad

So get fancy, and show us all your finery! 

Enter Mo's Challenge for a chance to win an image from Mo

Another "Queen of Hearts"

This card uses an image from another great digital artist, Rick St. Dennis. I made the card for him to feature on his blog promoting the Operation Write Home blog hop. At this time OWH is looking for Valentine's Day cards, hence the very early Valentine theme! The cards are sent in bulk to overseas bases so that the soldiers can choose one to send home to loved ones. Check them out...it's a wonderful organization.

Rick is in the process of getting together a design team to help promote his digital designs. I think his images are adorable and have made several cards with them. He's chosen me as a member of his DT and is looking to add a few  more designers. Check out his blog for more information. He also has a line of rubber stamps made by I Brake for Stamps.

 Image: "Queen of Hearts"  from Rick St. Dennis

  Tools: Copics, MS Border punch, SU! Heart punches, Cuttlebug with Creative Craft embossing folder,  Gold metallic pen, White gel pen

 Paper:  DP by Paper Pizazz, SU! Real Red CS, Neenah smooth white CS

 Embellishments: Pearl hearts and hat pin, beads and pearls, Satin Ribbon

Mo's Challenge #55

Pick a Season!

The challenge Dawn has for us this month is to use one of Mo's images to make a card or project that reflects one of the four seasons. With summer and half of autumn behind us and the rest of autumn and the long winter still ahead of us, I chose spring. 

I've used Mo's fantastic image of the Mad Hatter from her Alice in Wonderland series. Isn't he fun?!

I just love the look of movement and all his zaniness. ( Is that a word? LOL!)

I've heard that the term "as mad as a hatter" came into use because hatters used mercury to cure the pelts used to make hats, and inhaling the fumes over the years caused neurological damage resulting in confusion and 'madness'.

The inside of this card will say, " A Very Merry Un-birthday to You!".  I'll probably send it to my younger sister, because I never manage to get a birthday card off to her when it is her birthday!

The left hand inside will have the Mad Hatter quote, " No wonder you're late. Why this watch is exactly two days too slow."

Image: Mad Hatter from Mo's Digital Pencil

Tools: Copics, Prismacolor Pencils, White gel pen, Gold metallic pen, MS Checkerboard border punch, Mounting Tape, Circle Punch, Nellie Snellen Embossing Leaf punch set

Papers: SU! Melon Mambo, Barely Banana, Gable Green, Neenah smooth white, Basic Grey DP

Embellishments: Coiled flowers, Gathered gingham ribbon (Reasonable Ribbon), Pearl heart cabochons, Pearl heart hat pin (Wild Orchid Crafts)

So, pick your favorite season and your favorite Mo image and join us in Mo's Challenge for a chance to win a wonderful image from Mo's Digital Pencil!

Thanks for dropping by!

Elaine

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

Too Many Birthdays!

Cards "R" Us!

April through June are the busiest months for special occasions at our house. Of course there's  Mother's Day and Father's Day, but also our anniversary, and at least seven family birthdays! Needless to say, I'm busy making cards!

I made this one for my "soon-to-be" DIL who is turning 39 and is not welcoming it! The inside says, "Just blow it off and enjoy the day!"

The image was a free digital from Sassy Cheryl for members of her PCP group. I colored it with Copics and Prismacolor pencils, taking  the bright colors from the Basic Grey DP. The card stock is SU!'s Melon Mambo and Green Galore. The flowers are from Wild Orchid Crafts. I made the little curls by wrapping very thin strips of CS around a paintbrush handle and stuck them on with glue dots.

Strawberries!

This one uses a digital image from Isabella's Sketchbook. I love the look of strawberries, so I had to have this as soon as I saw it! The digital sentiment is free from Paper Garden Project. The  paper is from Cosmo Cricket. The 8" X 8" pad is mostly fruit and vegetable prints with a few coordinating designs. Very cute! The card stock is Kiwi Kiss and Garden Green from SU!, and the white is from PTI.  I made the blossoms using the Martha Stewart Hydrangea punches and mini brads. The leaves are the MS Leaf punch. The ribbon slots were made using a MS punch, too. 

The inside says, "Wishing you a special day that brings the nicest things your way!"

Mo's White Rabbit

Of course, with all those birthdays, I'm bound to forget at least one! This card will come in handy if I do! This is Mo's adorable White Rabbit, which may still be available for free to her PCP and SNR groups. He's colored with Copics and Prismacolor pencils. It's Cosmo Cricket DP again, and Only Orange and Gable Green CS from SU!. The carrots were made using SU!'s Scalloped Circle punch and Martha's Branch punch. The fence border is also MS, and the tags are from SU!. The sentiment was computer-generated.
The inside says,"...for a very important date!. I hope your birthday was wonderful!"

I'll be posting more birthday cards in the next couple of weeks....I still need many more!
Thanks for stopping by!
Elaine

He Wouldn't Scare Anyone!

Belated Birthday

I had so much fun making this card! The image is  public domain artwork from a coloring book site. I thought this scarecrow would be perfect paired with this computer-generated sentiment for a belated birthday greeting. The inside says, "....I would have remembered your birthday!"

As usual, he's colored with Copics and Prismacolor pencils. The DP is from Basic Grey, and the CS is Soft Suede, Garden and Gable Greens from SU! The swirl is from SU!'s set "Priceless".

I used MS punches for the zig-zag border, the little sunflowers (Cosmo punch), and  the leaves. A little Fun Flock on a 1/2" punched circle makes the center.

The mini sunflowers to the right are arranged in a tiny red-ware pitcher from my collection of miniature pottery.