Samantha Walker Blog Hop Day Two!

Good morning and happy Friday to you!  Today is day 2 of the Samantha Walker/JustRite Blog Hop! 

Today's card uses a fabulous background stamp called, Fragrant Garden. I wanted each part of the stamp to be a different color, so I used my Tim Holtz Distress Markers and used the "Direct to Rubber" technique.  The beautiful part of these markers is once you are done applying your color, you can remoisten them by "huffing" on them. 

For my card I stamped the image twice and hand cut the frame portion to create a shadow box effect. I added a few sequins to pull the orange color out a bit.

I used the Bitty Blossoms Spellbinder's dies to create my orange flowers and added the little blue posies from my stash. 

Here is the set I used. :)

Be sure to visit both design teams for more wonderful inspiration!

JustRite Inspiration

Jamie Cripps

Heidi Blankenship 

Michele Kovack 

Kathy Jones

Claudia Harvey

Barb Schram

Kristi Schurr

Darsie Bruno

Diana Fisher

Sheri Holt

Kellie Fortin 

Aimee Maddern

Marisa Job

Margie Higuchi

Love what you see?  You're in luck!  Samantha's JustRite Stamp Sets and Die Sets 

will be on sale for 25% off today through 6/30!

Just click HERE to get yours!

JustRite is giving away the Bunting and Banners Clear Stamp Set, the coordinating Bunting and Button Dies, and the Summer CHA catalog that has over 175 ideas!!

Just enter through the Rafflecopter widget for your chance to win!

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Samantha Walker Blog Hop!

Good morning! What an exciting day today is! The JustRite gals have teamed up with the gals from the Samantha Walker Design Team to highlight Samantha's gorgeous stamps! For my card today, I used Samantha's Pattern Basics set.  I stamped the diamond pattern twice using Versamark ink and embossed it in white on kraft card stock. I used my Tim Holtz Distress markers to color each diamond in.  A trick when coloring each diamond is to outline the left side of the diamond, then take your water brush and "drag" the color into the center. This gives areas of dark and light to add depth to the card. I cut out the diamond shape  and adhered it to another panel of kraft card stock.  The edges were inked in a bit of white. 

Pearls were added to dress it up a bit.  I also colored a Recollections wooden flower with the markers, hand cut 3 leaves, and added that to the sentiment.  Speaking of the sentiment, the thank you is from Samantha's French Frills set.  It was also embossed in white and cut into a strip to add to the the front of the card. 

The inspiration continues with both design teams!  Be sure to hop on over to these talented girls' blogs!

 Justrite Inspiration

Samantha Walker

Debbie Olson 

Kathy Jones 

Guiseppa Gubler

Eva Dobilas

Michele Kovack 

Maya Oren-Dahan

Kristi Schurr

Darsie Bruno

Kellie Fortin 

Chrissy Guido

Sheri Holt 

Angela Barkhouse

Daniela Dobson

This card also works for the Moxie Fab Tuesday Trigger!  It incorporates the orange, yellow, and green colors, although a toned down version of it. ;)

Love what you see?  You're in luck!  Samantha's JustRite Stamp Sets and Die Sets 

will be on sale for 25% off today through 6/30!

Just click HERE to get yours!

Of course we know you want to know more about the prize!

JustRite is giving away the Bunting and Banners Clear Stamp Set, the coordinating Bunting and Button Dies, and the Summer CHA catalog that has over 175 ideas!!

Just enter through the Rafflecopter widget for your chance to win!

a Rafflecopter giveaway

A Card About Lettuce?

Lettuce as the focal point?  Yes, I say!  How about for all of those Green Thumbs in your life?  Perfect right? ;)  See there is a card for everyone!

Now let's get serious for a moment......I needed an excuse to color with my Inktense pencils again.  And yep, lettuce fit the bill. It is part of the Crafty Secret's Vegetable Digital Images. I colored in layers with green, brown, and a hint of yellow.  I printed the lettuce image 3 times and cut the top two layers and adhered them to the bottom layer with dimensional foam circles.  I curled the edges up a bit and painted it with gold Stickles. The designer paper is part of the Crafty Secrets's Vegetable Garden Digital Papers collection. 

I added a bit of seam binding tied with a button.  I used a couple of Maya Road stick pins as a finishing touch. 

Take a peek at my side bar and you will see that on the 27th and 28th JustRite and Samantha Walker are teaming up for a colossal sized blog hop! It's one you are not going to want to miss! Prizes and inspiration galore! 

I am off to see my scrappy gals today for a little girl time!  

Have a great day my friends!

Moxie Fab-Tuesday Trigger!

Talk about being under the wire!  I have 38 minutes to get this posted for the Vintage Vagabond Moxie Fab Tuesday Trigger!  I really wanted to participate and had to photograph it at night with my light box to make it in time! 

WHEW!

Here is the Tuesday Trigger inspiration photo.

I love the black and white with the gold accents. 

I decided to work off of that for my inspiration.  I used black and white paper from SU! I cut 2 large feathers using my Silhouette and glittered them.  I matted the feathers with a gold scalloped circle using a Spellbinder's die. 

I had this pretty Prima flower in my stash and thought it would be perfect to tie it all together.  I added a bit of twine and a few gold sequins and rhinestones to finish it off. 

Have a great night! 

:)

More Inktense and Crafty Secrets

I normally post early on Fridays, but today I had to head out of the house early.  Our family had an interview for a possible placement for Cortney. It is a great place, but something that is a bit difficult to wrap my head around. I want this for her, but it is hard to imagine my everyday life without her.  For 18 years, my life has been so entwined with hers, and now there is a possibility that she may be taken care of by someone else. It was a decision that was difficult to make, but honestly, I know it is the right one.  

I tend to go in spurts with my crafting, I find a new toy and go crazy for a bit.  Right now, I am definitely on an Inktense kick! I have been enjoying sitting outside on my deck with images like this one from Crafty Secrets,(Vegetable Garden Stamps) and just coloring like a little kid. The card shape was cut using my Silhouette.  I added some ribbon, rhinestones, pearls, and a bit of twine. 

I again "painted" on some gold Stickles to give my carrots a bit of sparkle.  Yes, even my carrots need to be glittery! ;)

I have been spending a bit more time practicing my photography skills.  For no reason in particular, just because I enjoy it I guess.  I captured this a few nights ago, while my son was playing on his I-Pad.  I loved how the light illuminated part of his face.  He was a good sport, and allowed me to take a few pics of him. 

Have a great weekend everyone! 

:)

Inktense and Crafty Secrets

Good morning to you my crafty friends!  

The other day I mentioned that I had purchased a new toy......and here it is! In all of its 36 pencils glory!

They are Inktense pencils and I LOVE them!  One might assume they are a typical watercolor pencil, but alas, they are not. I've watched many You Tube videos gathering information about these little numbers.  They contain pigment (ink) which is extremely vibrant.  They do move with water, but only once. If you don't move quickly the "ink" becomes permanent.  You can dump an entire glass of water, and the "ink" won't move.  The other tip I learned is that when applying multiple colors, you want it to dry first before applying your next color.  I highly recommend watching a few videos to get yourself acquainted with this very cool product.  My friend and fellow "Dirty Girl," Dina Kowal has a great one! ;)

So here is my very first attempt at using my Inktense pencils.  I used a daisy from the Flower Garden Digital pack from Crafty Secrets.  Once the Sunflower was to my liking, I cut it out.  I added glossy accents to the center and sprinkled it with black Flower Soft. The cute vegetable paper behind the flower is a also from Crafty Secrets.  It is part of the Digital Garden Papers line. 

I wanted my sunflower to have a bit of sparkle, so I "painted" some gold Stickles from the center out. I used a couple Spellbinder's dies to matte the image.

I have been practicing with my camera and decided to take a tour through my backyard. I used my 70-300mm lens on macro to take these. 

When taking close ups of flowers I use the timer on my camera and placed a black piece of paper behind the flower.  If you use the timer setting, it eliminates camera shake! ;)  And the black paper makes the flower pop a bit more.  

It is supposed to be a beautiful day here in Chicago, so Cortney, Kyle, and I are planning on spending the day in the pool.  I love watching my girl become free in the water.  Her only real chance at getting those legs to move. 

Enjoy your day and thank you so much for popping by for a visit!

Lifesaver

I hope you all had a lovely weekend! My hubby was off yesterday, so it was like having a 3 day weekend! Which explains my lack of posting yesterday. I have a lil summery project to share with you that I had created for Northridge Publishing's Cricut Magazine. It was in their July 2012 issue. I used my Cricut and the Wild Card 2 cartridge to create the anchor and life preserver. The treat tubes are from SRM Stickers.

I added a bit of designer paper around the tube and filled 'em up with lifesavers.  Get it?  Man, I know I am so stinking clever! ;)  I added a bit of twine, glitter, glossy accents, and large brad for the center. 

I will have some brand new projects to share with you this week that I've been working on!  I got a new toy recently.....Inktense pencils!  I've been having so much fun playing!

Have a great day my friends!