LITTLE KIMONO GIRL - MO'S DIGITAL STAMP

Mo's Digital Stamps has the MOST adorable selection of stamps!  When I saw this one I knew it was the one for me.  I find I am using digital stamps more and more.  I love being able to download a design and have it right away - instant gratification, lol.  It's also nice to be able to manipulate the size of the design to fit your project.  I submitted this card to their call for a guest DT for the month of May.  How fun would that be!?!  The image was colored with my Prismas and Gamsol and a little bit with my Copics.  I added the faux coins which I got at the craft fair in Tucson on my last trip to the mainland - love to shop for card goodies when I get home.

This is the layout that we were request to use:

MOTHER'S DAY

I am busy getting my cards done for Mother's Day.  My Mom passed away a few years back, but I have several Aunts that are very dear to me and are like a mom to me.  I always remember them on their special day as they are mothers too! 

There is a fun challenge going on over at The Pink Elephant and the theme is NATURE.   I bought this stamp last week on E-bay and love it.  I thought it would be perfect.  It looks so much like Spring and could be used for Easter too.  Both cards are very different in their color combos, but I like them both.  I stamped them with marker pens applied directly to the stamp then used my Nestie's to cut and emboss their edges.  I added some ribbon, a few dew drops on one and tiny crystal rhinestones on the other.  I also used the Cuttlebug to emboss the background paper on the second one.  Hope you like them and are inspired to make a great card for your Mum!

FLOWERPOT CARD

I sure hope you had a wonderful Easter!  It was a lovely day here and very relaxed.  I even managed to get a little fun crafting time in.

I came across this fantastic cut file on the SVG site.  It"s a kit for for Mother's Day, but I used it for a birthday.  I have a sweet Aunt who will be 90 next weekend and I needed something special for her, and this is perfect.  All the pieces were cut with my Cricut except the base....  I only have the 6x12 mat and because this is a large shape fold card I had to do some "fanigalling" as my Mom used to say!  I cut only half of it then laid it on my paper and drew around it.  I then flipped the pattern it for the reverse image opposite the one I just drew, then cut it out by hand and folded it in half.  A bit of extra work, but, hey, it worked great. I used dew drops for the center of the flowers and stamped the sentiment.  This is my first attempt at the flowerpot type card and I know I'll be making more of them, I really like them!

SPRING MARTINI

Cheers to Spring!  I am so happy to hear all of you saying that warm weather is finally coming your way.  To celebrate, I made this using an adorable stamp sent to me by my sweet blogger buddy, Christine.  Mahalo Lady!  I'm not sure I did the stamp justice as I am not real happy with my coloring.  I used my Copic's and wsih I had used my Prisma's and Gamsol instead.  In any case, it is cute and was a lot of fun to do.  I did something else I have never done before - I entered it in SIX challenges!  I'm usually lucky if I find two, but this time it fit right in the criteria required for quite a few, fun!

Here is the sketch #C4C30 from Crazy 4 Challenges

Cute Card Thursday #106

Cupcake Craft Challenge #84

Die Cuts R Us - Surprise Challenge

Crafty Creations #61

Papertake Weekly - Open Theme

TULIP GATE FOLD CARD

I really like the clean and simple lines on this card.  No muss, no fuss, no clutter, lol.  It was for a friend for Easter.  I used the Cuttlebug on two of the papers, cut out the circle with Nestabilities, colored the stamp with Copics and added the ribbon.  I love the polka dots!

SIMPLE WEDDING CARDS

These are more cards for my order.  I'm so glad my customer likes my style of card making.  Sometimes I think I should use more flowers and embellishments, and I try to, but then I never seem to like the card (only with "Tilda" cards do I love to go overboard - except for the previous frog card!).  The solution for me is to keep it more "tailored" and add a smaller amount of goodies.  I really prefer a more subtle elegant look, and that is what I tried to do here.  

For the first card I computer generated the "Mr. & Mrs." as I don't have a stamp for that, used the Cuttlebug to emboss the paper and also scored it.  Then I added the ribbon, flowers and pearls - simple but elegant!

This second card is a scraplift from SusieB - again, lol.  I absolutely love her cards, that lady knows what elegant means!  I purchased this stamp when I saw how she had used it on several cards.  I couldn't wait to get my hands on it and do this card!  The embossed paper just gives it so much personality along with the arch edge which was cut with a Martha Stewart edge punch.  I heat embossed the trim on the bride's gown, veil and the hearts with a mixture of transparent Clear and Stardust embossing powders, colored the stamp with Copics, added the ribbon, raised the image with pop dots and was set!

HAPPY FROGS!

All the frogs on this paper are so colorful, but the overall card is very "busy".  But I  used it for a reason.  I needed a very HAPPY card for a very special lady!  It's for my friend who has been going through radiation and chemo for the past 8 weeks.  This week is her last set of treatments and she got through it like a champ.  It wasn't easy, but she MADE it! 

The frogs are little stick on embellishments that I've had for ages as are the little sentiment tags, all raised with pop dots.  She has not been able to "eat" in the normal sense for weeks - instead she has had to use a feeding tube inserted in her stomach.  She is SO hungry for pasta, her favorite food and can't wait to be able to "eat" again.  So on the inside of the card I want to put "Let frogs eat flies, Give me PASTA!"  Love her so and pray for her every day.  Her prognosis is good and for that I am so thankful!

BIRTHDAY FLOWER CUPCAKE

Aloha all, I hope everyone is enjoying their weekend!  Spring is just stepping out from around the corner and this card has a cheerful Spring attitude.  It's another for my order in the birthday category.  I got the background flowered  paper in Phoenix my last trip for 10 cents a sheet!  Now that was a fun bargain find!  They had a stack of close out papers 10 for $1.00 and who could refuse that?!?!?!!  I colored the cupcake with my Prima's and Gamsol, used the Cuttlebug for the scallop ovals and a nice piece of ribbon to set it off.  What ya think?

SYMPATHY - THINKIING OF YOU

This is for part of the order I received.  I need to do two sympathy cards.  I don't find them hard to do, EXCEPT for the verse inside.  It's very emotional and never easy to express, so I try to keep it simple.  This one says:

Although it's difficult today to see beyond the sorrow,

May looking back in memory help comfort you tomorrow.

I enjoyed making this one because I did a fun technique  called emboss resist.  I used Samp-N Stuff's Stardust embossing powder because I wanted a bit of sparkle in the flower.  The card was also made with all scraps of paper that I just layered.  Add a few dew drops, a sentiment and you've got it!  But the thing I really like on this one is the ribbon.  It has the most beautiful sheen that is two colors, dark green and navy blue, depending on how the light hits it. 

Here is a close up of the ribbon:

MY 1st WEDDING CARD

I just received an order for 15 cards, yipee, I am busy, busy, busy!  In the order there is a request for 3 wedding cards.  Believe it or not, I have never done one before.  I have been anxious to do one, especially because my daughter's wedding is coming up in June and I want to do something really special.  This gives me a chance to experiment a bit.

The cake is a free SVG file (scroll down the page to 1.19.10) from SVG Cuts that was for a birthday cake.  I just manipulated the file in SCAL to add another layer.  The cake pieces were put through my Cuttlebug to give it a little texture, then I used Liquid Applique for the pearl like bands around the layers.  I cut some cute little hearts for on the top and was very happy with it.  I needed silver paper and didn't have any, so, I sprayed a heavy piece of card stock with silver spray paint - it worked great!

INDULGE!

We all need to "indulge" a little every now and then!  My blogging buddy Christine sent me this adorable Bella stamp.  I've been wanting to use her and tonight I decided it was time to get with it!  It's a birthday card for a very good friend who lives way too far away.  I entered it in the challenge going on over at Truly Scrumptious.  They are using a super layout, and Christine is also their guest designer this week - you go girl!  For the coloring I used my Copics and also Prisma's and Gamsol.  I also added a little Liquid Applique on the pop corn to make it look a little puffy.

Here is the layout:

KING OF THE ROAD

Don't you just love it when you find something special that you need for a card - in this case paper for a guy card.  As you are scrounging through your stuff, searching, you come across a set of paper you bought, put away and forgot about!  You see it and BINGO, it all falls into place!!!  Well, this is exactly what happened today with this card.  I had the stamp all picked out and then thought, uh oh, what paper can I use?  This is for my SIL's birthday.  He is a total hot rod and classic car guy, he builds and restores them for a living.  Some of the cars he's done are so beautiful, they're like a work of art.  I sure hope he enjoys this as much as I enjoyed making it.

The paper is by COLORBOK, one of their "patterned paper packs" and I think the title is " Kiss".  I colored it with my Prisma's and Gamsol, a silver metallic pen and added the rhinestones.  I know it's for a guy, but hey, it's for a "King" so why not!  The banner and car are raised with pop dots.  On the inside it says, "Today and Always!  Happy Birthday".

CAUGHT A BUG...

My BFF had a terrible cold and flu and needed some cheering up, so I made this for her.  She loves ladybugs, so it was perfect for her.  I used the Doodlecharms and Walk In My Garden cartridges.  I did a little sponging with light blue ink pad, added the bow and flower and a leaf punch from Marhta Stewart - I sure have been using that a LOT lately.  Simple card, but oh so cute!

EASTER DUCKIE!

This little duck stamp is so cute, I just love her bonnet, so full of Spring.  On it I used Flower Soft and added a few tiny cut out flowers to give it a bit more zip.  From the bow I hung an Eater egg charm, then glued on a tiny sparkly butterfly.

CROSSES FOR EASTER

Here are several cards that vary a bit, but all of them use the Spellbinders Shapeabilities Cross Collection.  The inspiration and scraplift came again from the fantastic SusieB.  Her designs with white on white are the prettiest I have ever seen.  As I did with the egg designs, I made one also in a soft pastel.  I really like the result.  Hope you enjoy them too!

This first one is layers embossed with the Cuttlebug.  The cross was decorated with some tiny pearls and white satin ribbon.

This one is the pastel.  I embossed the plain background using the Cuttlebug, then decorated the cross with some tiny matching pearls and the ribbon.

This last one is a bit different.  I used a SCAL cut that I designed to cut the frame around the cross.  I backed it with crinkled aluminum foil to match the silver foil on the paper, then decorated the cross with silver dots and added the ribbon.

SPRING BOUQUET

I really like the background paper used on this one.  It's Mulberry paper and it has so much color and texture.  I thought it was perfect for this bouquet of flowers.  The flowers are all miniature artificial ones that are arranged and glued on.  The vase is from my Cricut cartridge, "A Walk In My Garden".  The sentiment tag was a SCAL file cut.  It's a pretty simple, straightforward card, but I like it!

HI!

A fun challenge is going on over at Crafty Creations Challenges.  The challenge is to "Make Your Own Flowers".  Geeze, scroll down my blog page and see all the flowers I've made lately, LOL!!!  All those flower seed bags wore me out - I didn't think I'd make another flower for a looooonnngggg time, but here I am, at it again!   Thanx for dropping by, aloha!

LOVE THESE MONKEYS!

I love the Changito monkey stamps!  When I saw these new ones for Easter I had to have them!  They just make me smile and giggle.   I think I've got a "Conga Line" theme going on this Easter...  I think the monkeys and the chickies need to get together and party!  On this first card I used some cute trim that I got in Phoenix my last trip.  I also added a few dew drops on the eggs.  Don't they just make you smile!?!!

This second one has trim and a flower that I got up in Salem while visiting my daughter.  Guess these cards will always remind me of where I've been!

BUNNY WITH EGG

I found this cut file on line, but it was just a picture of the pieces for the bunny.  So I manipulated them and imported them into my SCAL program and, voila!  I got the little cutie!  I like him, but I'm not too sure about the background tulip paper...?  I really like the paper, but it seems a bit "busy".  I'll have to experiment with it on some other projects and see what I come up with.  All in all, it's an ok card, but for some reason it just doesn't seem to be "up to snuff!"  Mahalo for stopping by and have a great day!

BUTTON SPRING FLOWERS

I forgot about these buttons that I bought a long time ago.  I came across them today and really wanted to use them, and this was the result.  I cut the flowerpots from Walk In My Garden Cricut cartridge and inked the edges, the stems were by hand and the leaves are from Martha Stewart punch, but trimmed off and glued separately.  The background paper is from a pack I really like called Citrus Matstack by Premium Stacks.  Added a little ribbon trim, a couple of bows and a pre-made sticker that says "Spring".  Sping is in the air!

THE PLAY DATE CAFE CARD CHALLENGE PDCC19

This is a fun challenge going on over at The Play Date Cafe.  The theme is two shades of yellow.  How could I resist not using the cute little chickies again!

ELEGANT EASTER EGG TRIO

For those of you who don't look at the Cricut Message Board, here is something too see.  We have a lady called "SusieB" who does the most amazing cards you have ever seen - check out her gallery and you'll see what I mean!  She inspires all of us to strive for greatness in our creations.  She recently posted a card called  "Elegant Easter Egg" that led to the cards below.  I fell in love with her beautiful simple design, it's so elegant and classy looking.  Mahalo nui loa Susie for you wonderful creations and inspiration!

PASTEL BIRTHDAY

I've been so busy with wedding things for my daughter that I nearly forgot an important family friend's birthday!  I made this one quickly and got it to the post office pronto!  Lattice trim from a Fiskar's punch, Cuttlebug embossed paper, stamped the sentiment and used SCAL to cut the flower from a collection they have called 3D Mums and Fall Flowers.  I don't care if it isn't Fall, I like the flower!

MONKEY BUSINESS

 A lady on the Cricut message board did a card with this adorable little monkey, and all of us who saw it went gaa gaa over it!  Of course we all wanted to know where to get the cut file.  It turns out it is one of the files that goes with "Make The Cut", a program like SCAL.  Well, I was determined to find the file and convert it or SOMETHING to get it!   After a lot of research, trial and error, I GOT IT!   I even made a special trip up to Waimea to the craft store to get those googly eyes!   There is a challenge going on over at Crafty Creations and they want you to "CUT it OUT and POP it UP", and this fit right in.

You see there is a VERY special little girl I know who ADORES Curious George, and this little guy looks just like him - I HAD to have this!    She is going to be one happy little girl!  Hugs to you Lahela!!!

MARGARITA TIME!

This is for my BFF, it's her birthday - Hauoli La Hanau Missy B!  I have to admit it is a scrap lift...  Missy B. just loves tequila and margaritas so when I saw the card I knew I HAD to do one similar for her.  It's my first pedestal card.  I have been wanting to do one for a long time and I really like the result!  I digi stamped the drink, colored it with Prisma's and Gamsol and cut it out, then I added some Liquid Applique with glitter on it to make it look like salt on the rim of the glass - I LOVE that stuff!  I printed all the sentiments with my computer.  The little rhinestone flowers came off of a nail file I got at the Dollar Tree!!!  I knew when I bought it that I'd be using them specifically for that purpose - hey get it where ya can, right!