A New Month....and a New Stack of 145 Colored Images!

Early in March, when I went away for a week of nothing but card making, with a friend...

I spent the week coloring images.

I came home with almost 75 colored images...

Then...when I was home...I continued to color...with a goal of coloring a total of 100 images.

(Remember my stack of 100 colored images
that I created cards with throughout the month of February?)

Somehow...when I returned home after that week away....I just keep coloring...

Mostly with Copic markers...

And I wound up with 145 colored images..

All of them ready for card making.
And all of the images stamped in multiples...usually 4, 5 or 6 of each image

Now, as April approaches...I'll be starting the new month...with a new stack of colored images!

I've been enjoying going though the stack of colored images...

Choosing a group of one particular image..

and creating cards with them.

Today I'm sharing a card created with and image from Penny Black's Botanical Garden stamp set.
I colored a few of this image...in a few different colors

Today...I am sharing one of the coral/orange colored images

I just LOVE how this card turned out...

The combination of dotted print foiled paper...and metallic card stock colors came together nicely...

I cut the Hero Arts Happy sentiment twice...

once with bronze metallic card stock...and once with black metallic card stock.

I used the black to create an offset shadow.

I also stamped out "Birthday", from the Happy die and stamp set...

I matted it...and like the image layer...I positioned the Birthday sentiment with foam dimensionals.

The die cut Happy was positioned with rolled glue dots...for added lift.

After he image was colored with Copics

each flower was highlighted with some Clear Wink of Stella.

The image layer got a light brushing of color with Clarity stencil brushes...

in the area of the center of the flowers, only. 

Here's a close up...

You can see the Wink of Stella shimmer and the metallic card stock shimmer

and the offset die cut shadow in this photo.

I hope that you like this card as much as I do...

I really like the image...but it's the metallic card stock and Copic colors that I like most!

The combination of the bronze metallic card stock and coral/orange flowers 

is a combination that I love!

Thanks for visiting today...

have a wonderful day!

Michelle.

Wedding Wishes

A friend needed a wedding card...

By coincidence, I had just purchased a few new wedding stamps...

An image...and a lovely sentiment

(Both were wood mounts that I unmounted....and then remounted onto EZMount.)

I knew, as soon as she asked for a wedding card

that I wanted to create a 5 x 7 card...something that I rarely do...

I also knew that I wanted to use both of the new unmounted-remounted stamps...

and... I also knew that I wanted to create the card with ivory and white metallic card stock...

some vellum..

and some embossing.

And...I wanted the card to be a CAS (Clean And Simple) card...

which is my true type of card making.

Everything came together nicely...

and this is what I came up with...

(and my friend was very happy with the card!)

 The bride and groom image stamp is by Stampendous and is called Happy Couple

The beautiful sentiment stamp is by Inkadinkado and it's called Abound in Love

The embossing folder that I used to emboss the base layer of metallic card stock is by Anna Griffin

I used 2 different shades of ivory metallic card stock for the image layer and base layer

and I used white metallic card stock for matting.

I added an underlay mat layer of vellum.

Everything from the vellum on up was positioned with a large piece of self adhesive fun foam.

It was nice to create a 5x7 card for a change...

and it was also nice to create a wedding card...

Neither of which I do often.

And..it was nice to create a card with two new stamps that were ideal for this card making project!

Best of all...

My friend was very happy with the card!

Thanks for visiting today...

Have a wonderful day my crafty and creative friends...

Michelle

Lovely Lilacs

Somehow....

I always find my way back to creating cards with floral images.

Our Daily Bread Designs has a beautiful collection of stamps 

with single flower images...

I have most of them...

and use them often...

But..I've never used the Lilac stamp...

and thought that NOW was the time to ink it up.

I stamped the image onto ivory linen textured card stock

and colored it with Copic markers.

I chose a print that went well with the colored image

The scalloped frame and image mat were crated with deep purple metallic card stock.

I hand cut the sentiment banner...and matted it.

The frame and sentiment were positioned with foam dimensionals

The Happy Birthday stamp is from Stampin Up's And Many More stamp set

The foam dimensionals give a nice left to the scalloped frame

for a little bit of shadow box look

I've always loved purple, green and ivory together....

So it's no surprise that I chose a green print to go with lilacs.

If you visit my blog regularly...you may have seen the crocus cards that I shared recently.

That image is also from Our Daily Bread Designs.

If you like floral images...

take a peek at their website (HERE)

You'll love their flower stamps!

Thanks for visiting today.

Have a wonderful Wednesday, my crafty and creative friends!

Michelle.

Ballerina Silhouette and Flourishes in Black

I've been enjoying using some my intricate and detailed dies lately...

for one reason...

I am able to cut them...beautifully... in the GEMINI die cutting machine!

I've had my GEMINI since it first came out last Summer...

I purchased it in hopes that it would do what it was said to do...

That being: Cutting detailed and intricate dies...easily...and completely.

And...it does!

That ease of cutting detailed dies now has me going through dies that I have had for a while

But hesitated to use..

Because it was always frustrating to attempt complete cutting with other machines that I have..

both electric and manual.

Now...I am thoroughly enjoying creating cards with lots of long neglected dies.

Today I'm sharing 2 versions of a card ...both created with a pretty ballerina silhouette image

a few nice dance related quotes....

and...a beautiful flourish die.

All of the matting and die cutting, for both cards,  was done using  Black Metallic card stock

The ballerina image from Clearly Besotted's Twinkle Toes stamp set.

The quotes are from North Coast Creations Ballet stamp set

And the beautiful flourish die cut is 

Crafter's Companion Sara's Signature Decorative Die called Regency Swirls

I created 3 of this card...

This is such a pretty quote...isn't it?

 The flourish background die cut was cut beautifully with 2 passes through the GEMINI machine...one forward pass...and one reverse...

The ballerina layer was matted and then positioned with a large piece of self adhesive fun foam

The quote was also matted...and positioned with foam dimensionals.

I used one small sparkling rhinestone at the tip of the ballerina's finger, as an embellishment 

Instead of making a fourth of the card above...exactly the same...

I decided to use a different quote to switch it up a bit

Also...a very beautiful quote, I think.

It thrills me to enjoy using the detailed and intricate dies that I have

with zero frustration and 100% cutting success!

If you haven't seen my GEMINI video yet...take a peek ...

You'll be amazed at the demo of me using it for the first time.

CAUTION: If you like dies that are detailed and intricate...you WILL want a GEMINI

after watching the video 

Here's the video:

(Oh!!...I almost forgot to say....Thanks for visiting today...have a wonderful Tuesday!)

Michelle.

Bunny Wishes

Every time I THINK that I'm finished with Easter card making...

I come across another stamp or die, in my studio,

that makes me feel like I just HAVE to make a card!

This time...

It was a the new Hero Arts Paper Layering Bunny with Frame die that I picked up recently...

but had never used.

I die cut the bunny using white metallic card stock 

and I used green metallic card stock for the bunny frame.

On the back of the bunny die cut, I used a rolling ball stylus to burnish and shape the bunny details. 

The sentiment is from Sonny Studio's A Good Egg stamp set

I stamped 3 bunnies from Sonny Studio's Easter Wishes stamp set and trimmed them.

I matted the sentiment on a green metallic banner that I had hand cut...

 and used the 3 bunnies to embellish the sentiment.

I chose the carrot print paper...cut it to size...and matted both pieces...

along with a strip of orange metallic card stock...and placed them on the card front.

The bunny and sentiment piece were both positioned with foam dimensionals

The lighting in this photo allows you to see some of the shimmer on the metallic card stock used for the large die cut bunny and the 3 little bunnies as well...

(I LOVE this carrot paper and the 3 little bunnies peeking over the sentiment!)

I'd like to say that this is the last Easter card that I'll create....

But I can't promise that....based on my track record!

I do have a few other cards in mind that I'd like to create...

So I might put away the Easter stamps and dies...

and switch gears tomorrow.

Have a wonderful day my crafty and creative friends...

Thanks for visiting!

Michelle.

Something Bright, and Pink and Spring-y

I needed to switch gears...color-wise.

Lately I've been creating lots of cards using purples...greens...and ivory...

I love that color combo..

But...I was feeling like I needed to switch it up a bit...

and so I created a very CAS card...that's bright..and pink...and Spring-y

I chose a simple , but pretty floral image from Penny Black's Gently Day stamp set

and colored it with Copic markers.

I wanted a large sentiment for the hard front...

and so, I chose Mudra's Happy Birthday sentiment stamp.

I have a big paper pad of pretty, bright and cheerful print paper...

I browsed through the pad....and chose some patterns that I felt complemented the colored image.

I used shimmery bright pink metallic card stock for matting...

and positioned the matted image layer with fun foam, to add some lift & dimension

The card was finished with a few simple rhinestones.

While I've enjoyed creating cards with a purple green and ivory combo of colors..

Shades of pink and green and crisp clean white, together,

is a color combo that I also really like...

and it felt good to switch gears to a different color palette, for this card.

I hope that this card brought a little bit of Springtime and inspiration to you!

Have a wonderful Sunday my crafty and creative friends...

Michelle.

Violet Crocuses and Easter Wishes

I've got another Easter Card to share with you today!

Some pretty crocuses

(did you know  that the plural of crocus can be crocuses....or croci....

whichever you prefer.

Today...I'm going with crocuses.

A little bit about the stamps...dies etc hat I used to create this card:

The stamp: Our Daily Bread Designs~ Crocus 2

The lattice: Spellbinders ~  Diamond Effects (die)

The sentiment: Sonny Studio Easter Wishes

Coloring: Copic markers   

I chose a lavender print as a base layer (behind the lattice)

And added a few crystal droplets as embellishments.

The purple mat layer and green lattice were both created with metallic card stock.

I've been enjoying using my GEMINI die cutting machine these at feet days

to die cut the doily for yesterday's card...and the lattice for today's card.

The GEMINI is THE die cutting machine for intricate detailed dies...

Mine has it's own spot on the studio worktable..and it gets used almost daily!

*If you missed seeing the GEMINI video that I did....

check yesterday's blog post...I shared the YouTube link there.

Thanks for visiting!

Have a great Saturday, my crafty and creative friends!

Michelle.

Easter Wishes and Perfect Doily Die Cutting

Before I share today's card with you...

I'd like to mention my love for the GEMINI die cutting machine

Look at this!

This doily die cut was cut perfectly....

with one pass through the Crafter's Companion GEMINI and one additional pass in reverse.

After passing through the GEMINI

The doily die cut fell out of the die...

and every single little piece of what was cut out...

fell out of each and every little hole.

No poker tool

no brush.

It looked exactly like it does in this photo when it exited the machine

(Which is when I took the photo!)

If you'd like to see the GEMINI in action 

you can take  peek at a video that I did when I got my GEMINI last Summer, 

when it first came out.

So what did I do what beautiful detailed doily, you ask?

This is what I did with it!

I created an Easter Card

The stamped image is from a Stampin Up stamp set whose name I can't remember.

(Sorry)

The Easter sentiment is one of many stamps in the Easter Wishes stamp set by Sonny Studio.

The image and mat layer were both created with MFT's Stitched Arched STAX dies.

and the doily was die cut with Cheery Lynn's English Tea Party Doily Die.

I chose purple metallic card stock for the mat layers.

The image was colored with Copic markers.

I brushed color onto the image layer using Clarity Stencil Brushes.

For some added dimension I used self adhesive fun foam behind the doily  

to position the doily/image piece 

You can see all of the nice details in this close-up...

The stitched details...the lacy doily details...and the pretty print

(that just happens to have a lacy doily-like pattern on it)

I'm so glad that the GEMINI is a workhorse for intricate dies.

Without it, I don't think that I'd have attempted to use a lacy doily on this card.

And a doily seems to be exactly what this card needed!

Thanks for visiting today, my crafty and creative friends...

Have a wonderful Friday!

And when you have a sec...check out the GEMINI video...

(I am thinking that after you watch it...you will either add the GEMINI to your crafty wish-list...

or..

You'll order it...ASAP!

Michelle.

Colorful and Egg-cellent

Hi friends!

I'm back today with another Easter card...

Like the first card that I shared on Wednesday..

this card was also created with a Sunny Studio stamp set...

Today's stamp set is called: A Good Egg.

and....

Like the other stamp set...

this Sunny Studio stamp set has lots of sweet images...

Wanna see?

Adorable...don't you agree?

I created 3 identical cards...

All colored with Copic and Spectrum Noir (Alcohol) Markers.

I chose a fun Easter print..

and...Pink metallic card stock for matting.

I added background color with ink pads and Clarity Stencil brushes

I hand cut and stamped the sentiment banner..

*The little chick on the banner if from the Sunny Studio Easter Wishes stamp set.

I added a little bit of sparkle to the check and the bow on the basket

with Clear Wink of Stella.

The image layer and banner were positioned with low profile foam dimensionals

Here's a close-up...

so that you can see the details...

and the fun print on the background paper

This sweet Sunny Studio stamp set is new to me...
and I enjoyed inking it up to create the cards that I've shared today.
I look at the stamps in this set and see many other possibilities for creating cards...
I feel certain that I'll be making cards with this stamp set again in the near future!

Thanks for visiting my crafty and creative friends...
Have a wonderful day!
Michelle.

Venturing Beyond My Comfort Zone

A few months ago, Crafter's Companion US had a HUGE crazy clearance sale at their web site.

75% off lots of stamp sets and equally great pricing on other things like their oversized paper pads.

I had just finished my 6 month term on their Design Team....

and so between my DT acquisitions...

and my big stash of Crafter's Companion goodies from my pre-DT days...

I really had LOTS (emphasis on L O T S) of Crafter's Companion stamps in my studio.

But...the clearance sale was too good to ignore...

so I methodically went through everything on sale...

and purchased lots more stamp sets...

including some that weren't really "my style"...

in hopes of trying something new...and enjoying it.

If I had my way...I would always create cards with flowers...and floral images...

and I would water color them.

However...I TRY to always expand my card making repertoire...

and so, in spite of myself...

I DO make NON- floral cards!

When I placed the Crafter's Companion Clearance Sale order....

I added a whole bunch of Scruffy Little Kitten and Bebunni stamp sets my shopping cart...

I  loved the Bebunni sets...

But, I can't say that I was loving the Scruffy Little Kitten sets...

Still...I figured I'd give them a try....

I was;t even sure I'd like creating cards with them...

but at less than $2.50 per stamp set...

I figured...why not!

Last night...I stamped the main image out....from a few different sets...

I got out my Copics...and colored them

The result?

I surprised myself!

I actually like them!

They're very "not-me"....but I really like them.

I haven't made the colored images into cards...yet...

but thought I'd share the colored images with you simply because they're so cute.

I'm  to sure what's left at the Crafter's Companion web site as far as the Clearance Sale goes...

But I do know that I'm very happy that I took the plunge and ordered a while bunch of the Scruffy Little Kitten stamp sets...

because they add something different to my usual repertoire...

Moral of this story?

Step outside of your box.

You might be surprised!

Have a great day my crafty and creative friends!

Michelle.

It's Time for a Few Easter Cards

It suddenly dawned on me that Easter is right around the corner.

and that means that

It's time for me to get started on creating a few Easter cards!

My new stack of stamped and colored images has a few Easter images

from the Sunny Studio's "Easter Wishes" stamp set.

So...I plucked them from the stack...and created 5 cards....

and.... as I always do when creating multiples...

I created cards that are similar...but different...

3 of one...2 of the other...

By the way...sorry about the fuzzy photos...

I switched cameras...and now, after seeing these photos...

I know that I need to go back to my other camera...

This stamp set has lots of great stamp elements....

and...it also has a few different sentiments that fit in the curve of the drape on the cross...

For this card...I chose "Easter Blessings" sentiment...

and the larger sentiment, as well.

I colored the image for both card versions with Copic and Spectrum Noir (alcohol) markers.

For the  card below, I stenciled and created the background with Sheena Douglass' "Burst" stencil.

I created a vellum eyelet border with a Martha Stewart punch that I have had for ages...

(but rarely use)

I used Clarity Stencil brushes to add some green ink in the grassy area...

and I finished the card with some fine gold thread.

The background print is a muted purple swiss dot...and the mat layer is yellow matte card stock

I used the same sketch for creating 3 of the second version of this card...

This time...I chose a light green swiss dot print...

and changed the sentiment on the drape to.... "Easter Blessings"

I used the same punched velum eyelet border on each card

and matted the image with deep purple metallic card stock.

Isn't this a cute stamp set?

Well...I now have 5 Easter cards......

I have a few more Easter-y images colored and ready for card making...

so they'll be next on my Easter card making list!

Thanks for visiting my crafty and creative friends!

Have a wonderful day!

Michelle

I'm Baaaaaaack!!...with Rockstar Pets

It' been a few weeks since I last shared a project here with you at my blog.

But...I'm baaaaaack!

And...

It feels good to have something to share with you today!

While I haven't shared a card here on a few weeks....while I took a little vacation...

I HAVE been busy stamping and coloring images...

I had the intention of coloring a new fresh stack of 100 images...

(Like I did last month)

That intention turned into stack of almost 175 images!

(colored during the last 2 weeks...while on vacation...and since I've returned home)

And now...

I'm ready to start creating 175 cards!

(YAY!!)

Today, I am sharing a few cards created with Brutus/Monroe's Rockstar Pets stamp set

that I picked up from "Auntie Dayna's Card & Things" (Facebook).

I stamped each of the images on Spectrum Noir Ultra Smooth Card Stock

with Memento Tuxedo Black ink.

Each of the images, for the 6 cards below

were colored with a combination of Spectrum Noir and Copic (Alcohol) Markers

Background color was added with ink pads and Clarity Stencil Brushes.

I used an assortment of prints

and metallic card stock for matting. 

(I didn't have a small music note stamp....

so I drew some music notes with a marker... in the size that I needed)

I gave this "Rock Star"...a few shimmery orange metallic stars. 

I just LOVE this little guys expression....

with his eyes closed...his tongue wagging

and his snazzy bow tie!

This stamp set has two main images and an assortment of sentiment stamps...a dog...and a cat.

After I finished creating the 3 dog cards...

I decided to create 3 more cards....with this sassy cat...wearing aviator glasses!

Like the dog card above...I used an assortment of prints...and metallics...

Ink...and Clarity Stencil Brushes.

I also used a few stencils to add interest to a few of the backgrounds.

 The background on this card was created with Sheena Douglass' "Burst" Stencil.

Here, I use 5 Layers of prints and metallics

and brushed on some background color.

For the background of this last card... I chose a yellow tone on tone dotted paper...

I created a muted dotted background on the image layer with Carabelle Studio's "Ronds Concentrique" Stencil and Clarity Stencil Brushes.

I matted the image with  a simple narrow black metallic card stock mat layer.

So now....the BIG question...

Do I have a favorite?

Yes, I will confess...

I DO!

I am totally smitten with the dog...

I just love his happy expression!

Thank for visiting today...

Wishing you a wonderful day,  my crafty and creative friends...

Michelle.

PS....Thanks to "Auntie Dayna" for introducing me to this fun Brutus/Monroe stamp set!