Sweet Sunday Sketch

I really wanted to make a card for the Sweet Sunday Sketch challenge this week at The Sweetest Thing. I think the sketch is great.

I just got in my new 6x6 MME's Lime Twist paper pads! I love this paper. I used paper from Life of the Party (the patterns and colours are so pretty). The stamp is from Unity, Itty Bitty: Time and Season and the sentiment is from Hero Arts.

I love Penny Black Stamps!

Near the end of June, I received a newsletter from Penny Black (to join the club click here). It had a preview of the most adorable stamps - mimi the mermaid and Fun in the Sun. I have been anxiously awaiting the release of these stamps and last week, on the Penny Black Blog, they were giving away five (a set a day) Fun in the Sun stamp sets!!! All I had to do was leave a comment for a chance to win - which was easy to do since the design team's cards were all awesome!
They announced the winners today and I am the Monday winner!! I am so excited about this. I LOVE the stamps and I can't wait to start using them. Plus, they are also sending me some of their wonderful Mix & Match cardstock. Thank you Penny Black!
What a great way to start the day!

Next week, they are featuring their new catalog. Check out Monday's post for the information. Isn't Jill's card beautiful? I love the new "Christmas Pride" stamp.

Blog Candy by Nancy

Nancy, at Happy Heart Studio, is giving away some wonderful blog candy!

All you need to do is visit her blog for the details. And don't forget to check out her great cards!

Week 4 at Summer Card Camp

It's hard to believe that this is the last week of Summer Card Camp. I've learned so much from the instructional videos and inspirational cards from everyone.
For my week 4 card, I've tried to use Jennifer's fingerinking technique. Had a little trouble with it, but it is my first attempt...so I'm sure I'll improve with practice. :) I used clear embossing powder (on IO Cover-a-Card Flourishes stamp), instead of white - I don't like the white I have, it makes the image look a little blotchy. I should have started with my darker colour (peeled paint)and then my lighter colour (shabby shutters). I also added a little bit of Tumbled Glass.
The image is Hero Arts Three Flowers (CG128). I embossed it with gold - love the gold embossing powder - and coloured it with my copics. I used Spellbinders die Labels 4 and added Antique Linen distress ink to the edges. I coloured the ribbon to make the flower and punched out a smaller Labels 4 for the senitment.

I'm going to practice the fingerinking, but I think I'll use my white embossing powder to make the image stand out more. :)

Anything Goes for SimonSaysStamp Challenge

It's the last couple hours of the SimonSaysStamp challenge where they are giving away 2 extra prizes for reaching 1000 entries. I made this card for Week 4 of the Summer Card Camp, but I just don't have enough time to do a proper post. :)
The picture did not come out as nice as I would have liked it to - the lighting is very bad. I should have borrowed my daughter's camera. I will try to get a better picture tomorrow, before I put a link to it for the SCC.

It looks better in real life - without the washed-out colours and shine from the light.

Week 3 of Summer Card Camp!

As soon as I saw the colours, I thought of the Bo Bunny Timepiece papers. The stamp I used is from Greeting Farm - Special Autumn.

Week 2 at Summer Card Camp

I finished my card yesterday, but I wasn't sure if I was happy with it or not. I had some trouble with the distress ink background - I need more practice. :)

Still working on my blog background/layout...

I'm stuck. I haven't been able to come up with any ideas for my blog background. My oldest hasn't had time to help, so now I'm going to seek the help of my second oldest - Bella. :) For the moment, I am using a picture she made a few years ago. I had to drop the quality to get the file size small enough. I'm hoping, now that school is over for the summer, that she'll have some time to work with me on this.

I want to thank Kathy for her comment on my last post (and for following me!) I will keep checking SimonSaysStamp for those new PB stamps!

New Penny Black Stamp Set

Kathy at The Daily Marker, is giving away Penny Black's brand new stamp set, 'fun in the sun'. I would love to win this stamp set. I've contacted some of the stores I buy from, but so far they haven't been able to find anything out about this (and mimi the mermaid) new stamp set. I received an email from Penny Black (sign up here to join their club and receive emails about new products) about pre-ordering these stamps, but no luck so far on doing that. Now that they are released, I hope to have a better chance.
If you haven't stopped by Kathy's blog to enter, just click on the link above, otherwise...cross your fingers that I win!

Gallery Idol 2011

I wish I had more time to make cards for Gallery Idol 2011, but it has been a very busy few weeks and I managed to get only one card made.

The theme was Congratulations, so I made a wedding card. The stamps are from Recollections and I used Antique Linen distress ink and Walnut Stain distress ink. I used my gold embossing powder and really like how it looks.

Week 1 of Summer Card Camp 2011

It has been a very busy week. I haven't had a lot of time to make cards, but I did manage to make my first card for Summer Card Camp.

The colour combo was a great one with lots of bright, happy colours. I used my copics to stamp the dragonfly, and then layered some bright pink and orange paper underneath.

New Lily Pad Contest

I became a Member of Lily Pad Cards today! Go become a member for a chance to win a collection of Hero Arts stamps. Contest closes at 11:59 p.m. EST on Friday, July 15!

Have a great day!

Ladybugs!!!

Here is the inspirational photo for Challenge #116 at Cupcake Inspirations:

I just love ladybugs. They are so cute! I was so excited when I saw the challenge that I found my CC Designs EZ Mounted Gingersnaps Oh Baby Set and started stamping and colouring the baby. The papers I used are from Echo Park Essentials Metroplitan Dots & Stripes.

Sorry about the picture quality. It has been raining, so the sun is hiding.
I am entering my card in the Cupcake Inspirations Challenge.

My First Follower!!

I have a follower! Thank you so much, Archana for following me. :) I visited her blog and her cards are beautiful. I saw a few from the Card Patterns challenges (1, 2)and they are amazing. As well as the rainbow coloured ones from her Trigger Tuesday post.
Thanks again!!!

Card Patterns Sketch 120

This week at Card Patterns, I was inspired by the sketch and created a water-themed card. The pp was from my Echo Park Summer Days 6x6 pad. I really love their beautiful papers. I wish I could find a store around here with a greater selection - there are so many that I want to buy!!! I used the masking technique to make my water area (with Tumbled Glass and Faded Jeans - also adding a light misting of water) and added the Imaginisce Rub-ons that were a bonus gift from an early order from my favourite scrapbooking store. I coloured my ribbon orange (Copic marker) to match my pp and then tied my bow with the bow easy tool.
I love the bright colours of the Echo Park paper pad!

Too late for LIM challenge

I was originally creating this card for the LIM one layer challenge, but I did not get it finished in time.
It involved a lot of masking and I really enjoyed the process (and results).
Once I knew that I was too late to enter the challenge, I paper pieced the bird. :)

Where does the time go?

Can you believe that it is already June 17th? I can't. My kids are almost done school (except for my oldest in College - her ECE program continues over the summer months.) The days are finally drier and warmer, and the flowers (including the weeds) are growing rapidly. My peonies started blooming earlier this week and I didn't even notice until the Mailman made a comment about how pretty they were. I looked at the plant and saw the large deep pink blooms and agreed they were beautiful. I thanked her and continued to admire the flowers. I don't know how I missed them - I walk by them every day. I guess I just need to slow down and start paying attention to all the wonderful things spring is bringing us.

I barely made it into the Penny Black Blog's challenge last week. I managed to make and upload my card a couple hours before the deadline. The challenge was 'fun folds'.

I also had a little time Sunday afternoon to participate in the Hero Arts Flickr group Scramble. It was to make Scraplings. So I dug through my big bag of scrap papers and got to work. The cards are approx. 2.25" x 4". It was my first time playing along and I really enjoyed making the smaller cards.

Still haven't had a chance to work on the look of my blog. I guess I'll have to wait until the summer holidays to work on it.

I hope everyone has a wonderful weekend and Happy Father's Day!

Cupcake Challenge

I was checking through some blogs this morning and saw this week's challenge (Challenge #113) at Cupcake Inspirations. Their challenges are based on some yummy-looking treats. :)
Take a look for yourself at how delicious these look:

Recently I bought a gift card for someone and purchased the $1.00 card sleeve. I used that as a template to make my own. When I saw this challenge, I thought I would create one based on the cupcakes and use it for my sister's birthday. :)

I am entering it in the challenge.
I wish I had one of the delicious cupcakes right now...

Upgrading my template

I wanted to make some changes to my blog, so I've upgraded from my Classic template. It will probably take me some time to get everything the way I want, but if enlist the help of my oldest daughter, I might get done by the end of the week. I'm not sure what I want for the background, but I'm sure she will have some wonderful ideas for me. :)

Pretty and Pink

When I was young, my favorite colour was pink. I had pink shirts, pink shorts, pink skirts, and pink dresses. My sister preferred blue. Her loss - pink is an awesome colour. Although I have very few pink clothes as an adult, I still love pink! When my girls were little, I would find the most adorable pink fabric and make them clothes - usually dresses. Unfortunately, they have outgrown wearing pink - and dresses.
So when I saw the Penny Black Saturday Challenge was "one for the girlies" it took me back to my pink days, which was the inspiration for the main colour on my card. I used the sketch from this week's challenge at the Penny Black Blog...that ends tonight.
The majority of paper I used was from My Mind's Eye Stella and Rose 6x6 paper. It has such beautiful patterns and colours. The stamp is from Penny Black - 'sealed with a kiss'. The sentiment is Hero Arts.