Sheba the Catgoyle -- a friend in a high place

Here's Sheba, a digital stamp by Smeared Ink. She's a very lovely catgoyle, who hangs out on tall buildings and is the queen of all she surveys.



Sheba, her alcove, and her her building (overlooking Paris) were colored with Toner Grey Copic markers. The alcove was drawn in with a template from Fairy Tale Creations. The "stones" were created with the Copic aibrush system and my beloved Bricks template from The Crafter's Workshop. Love their stencils, and this one has gotten a lot of use!

The grey base level gray cardstock is textured and looks kind of stone-like (stoned? stony?). I used a Paper Shaper corner punch and also used a Borderabilities die by Spellbinders. I sponged silvery black Brilliance ink over the die, so that border strip looks metallic, though you could never tell from the photo.

Thanks for visiting today!

This card will be entered in the following challenges:
• Craft Your Passion: Monochromatic challenge
• Simon Says Stamp: Anything Goes
• Outlaws Promarker/Copic Friday: Anything Goes

Bombshell Hump Day Hop

Alison, our Hump Day Hop Captain, has set this month's challenge as a color challenge.

Here's the palette:



Here's my take on it.


I used the pin-up from the Bombshell Angel set and the bird from Hula Girl set for this card. The Pin-up and bird were colored with Copic markers. The bird's beak and eye were touched with Glaze pen.

I added bunny ears that were die cut using an old QuicKutz die from fuzzy white paper from my scraps stash. I colored the interior of the ear pink using Copics. The basket and the flourish on the sentiment are both QuicKutz dies too! The basket was touched up using chalks.

The patterned papers are a combo of MME (sky) and Memory Box stripes. I messed up one of the layers of the "ground" by edging with the wrong color marker. Her headband holding the ears should be higher up too. Oopsy. That's what happens when you rush I guess.

The sentiment is computer generated and reveals my wacky sense of humor.

Thanks for visiting today!

Just in case you got lost, here's the Hop List!
Bombshell Blog
Alison
Laura
Etsy Ketsy
Kelli
Mary G.
Alaine
Glittery Katie

I shall enter this card in the following challenges:
• Outlawz Promarker/Copic Friday's Easter challenge
• Splitcoast "You Have Me in Stitches" challenge

Easter Surprise!!! Variations on a theme!

I've done this sort of card before where something unexpected comes out of an Easter egg.

Here's my really brightly colored card:



Here's a close-up:

This time, I felt like using some of my poor neglected Memory Box Penguins. They used to have a dozen or so differently attired penguins, but have discontinued some of them. This makes me sad since I adore these funny penguin stamps!

This is the retired Carmen Miranda penguin who freakin' cracks me up. She cracked up that egg too! The egg, quote bubble, and a thin strip were punched, die-cut, and cut from a left over piece of serigraph technique cardstock that I used for this card. The cardstock was stamped using Bombshell's Butterfly Queen set.

Carmen was colored with Copic markers. Clear Glaze pen was used on her beak and feet. I colored the "ice" with C0 Copic marker, added Sakura Glitter pen, and then put Clear Glaze pen over that to make it look sparkly and icy.

The punched egg was cut using decorative scissors that I dug out from a bottom drawer. I can't remember the last time I used them! I outlined it with a combo of Copic markers and Sharpies. The Sharpie pen worked better over the white embossed images. I then coated the egg with Glaze marker and shaped it to make it more 3D.

The small sentiment is from Paper Trey's Mixed Messages set, which is infinitely useful since the sentiments are tiny!

The patterned papers are from MME Everyday Tango and Basic Grey!

Thanks for visiting today!

I shall enter this card in the following challenges:
• Outlawz Promarker/Copic Friday's Easter challenge
• Splitcoast "You Have Me in Stitches" challenge

Looking through a window!

When I first got the Grand Madison Window die by Poppy Stamps/Memory Box, I thought that this particular stamp, Two Cats on a Lounge Chair by Purrs & Pants would work fabulously with it. I think I was right! What's better is that I have several other P&P stamps that would work with that window die too! Yay! I must say that I love this window and can't wait to get the shutters die and the smaller window die.

I finally got a chance to play and this is what happened!



Close-up of inside spread"


Close-up of stamped image:

First I stamped and colored the scene with Copic markers. I soon realized that the entire stamp would not show through the window, but I was cool with that. Then I had a "Eureka moment" and figured out that if I had the outside of the scene on the outside of the card and the inside of the scene on the inside spread of the card, I could include the entire stamped image. So I went for it.

I used my Martha Stewart Score Board to create the "siding" then used very-old, verging on ancient Chatterbox patterned paper for the blue "walls" on the interior scene/inside of card.

Thanks for visiting today!

I shall enter this card in the following challenges:
• Simon Says Stamp Handmade Background challenge (the house wall/window)

Card for Taylored Expressions Sketch Challenge #154

Procrastination should be my middle name. Mom's birthday is Saturday AND the Taylored Expressions Sketch Challenge ends at 8:00 p.m. PDT tonight! So, I finally got out my poor neglected TE stamps and had a go at the sketch.

Here's the sketch:


Here's my take on the sketch:


I stayed fairly true to the sketch and only added a pinked circle and a sentiment to it. The bouquet of posies is from Taylored Expressions Fresh Flowers set. It was colored with Copic markers, which were chosen to match the papers from Two Scoops by Basic Grey (old 6x6 pad from my "store"). Distress Inks (Sage & Weathered Wood were added to color all edges as I can NOT abide white edges!!!

The rhinestones were colored with R24 to be matchy-matchy with the posies. Spica silver glitter pen was used for the bouquet's string. One nice thing about using pinked circles is that they make gem placement easy-peasy.

The sentiment is from Savvy Stamps. I adore their fonts and especially like that they're small and can fit into compact places. :D

Thanks for visiting today!!!

Spring is here!

It's been wonderfully warm in the NY Metro area and the trees are all abloom. Beauty pervades.

I've been giving my new Poppy Stamps' Grand Madison Window die some play time and wanted to create a spring scene as seen through a window.

Here it is!


Close up:


Third Coast's Blossoming Tree (BD-035-P) from p. 14 of the Spring '07 supplement, was just perfect for this as it had a flowering tree, a bunny, and a squirrel! The stamp was inked with Memento ink using a brayer because it's too big to ink with just the inkpad! I had to use my biggest acrylic block also!!! The image (tree, bunny, squirrel) were colored with Copic markers. The grass and sky were colored with Copics using the dotted background technique. I added a touch of Glaze pens for the critters' eyes and added some white flock for the bunny's tail! The patterned paper is from Basic Grey's Sultry 6x6 pad.

I used glossy white cardstock to die cut the window. I also used it to create the "bead board" below/under the window. I used my Martha Stewart Scoreboard to create the bead board.

Thanks for looking today!
• Crafts n Me "Spring Color Challenge"
• Celebrate the Occasion: "Celebrate Spring" challenge
• Creative Craft Friends: "Spring"

Layer it up with Smudgy Antics

The challenge this week over at the Smudgy Antics Challenge Blog is to "Layer it up!" I decided to use Seriba again for this challenge.

Here it is:


The first thing I did was to color Seriba using mostly cool gray Copic markers with a touch of silver Metallic Pentel pens on her chains and Glaze pens on her wand.

Then I grabbed a piece of textured gray cardstock and my Chicken-wire and Punchinella stencil by The Crafter's Workshop. I sponged Black Soot and Worn Lipstick Distress ink over the large Chicken-wire stencil first. Then when that dried, I went back and layered the small chicken-wire pattern of the Punchinella stencil and sponged more ink on. I had one more go sponging ink over the star pattern of the Punchinella stencils to create a visual triangle. Then I gave the whole thing several spritzes with a Pearl Perfect Pearl mister, which blended the ink a bit and left a nice shimmery finish. I left it to flatten out under a stack of books.

Some silver accents were needed so I created a photo mat from pink and gray cardstock and added silver eyelets. I found some wonderful black and silver ribbon and threaded it through the eyelets and the sentiment (from The Fairy Fantasy unmounted rubber sheet by the Enchanted Garden) piece.

The sponged patterned glimmery gray cardstock was torn and silver mesh was layered over black cardstock between the two pieces. Then Seriba's panel and the sentiment panel were added.

A flower rhinestone and a trio of star rhinestones were added because the card needed some bling!

Thanks for visiting today!

I shall enter this in the following challenge(s):
• Simon Says Stamp & Show: "Create your own background"