{KKS115} Rapunzel in Pearls....

Hey there! Todays Kraftin' Kimmie challenge (115) is brought to us by Sandie, and she wants us to use pearls and pins on our projects...
I confess that I am a bit of a 'rule-breaker' and some have even called me a non-conformist....GASP! I can't imagine;)
Sandie- I tried to put a pin on this card, I really did! It just wouldn't work....and a wise old chinese man once told me 'DON'T FORCE IT'!!!!! Granted, he was talking about the lens on my Nikon camera, but I think it's pretty good advice for any situation.....
So here is my card, loaded with pearls, but lacking a pin:

I made this for my neice Elli's 3rd Birthday- she's a pretty big Rapunzel fan, so I used Annie Rodrigue's Rapunzel image! I used some MME paper, SU ribbon, and some Recollection pearl flourishes....

Pearls and rhinestones were added to the crown (as well as a coat of sakura glitter pen) and a rhinestone on her hair ribbon....

And I'm not normally a 'eye-colourer' of Annie's, but I really wanted this Rapunzel to look like the Disney version...that's a pretty big deal to a 3 year old;) I also added some spica clear glitter pen to her greens....

MFT dienamics on the inside....

Play along with us for your chance at winning some Kraftin' Kimmie goodness!! Check the KKS blog for more deets....

{ISSC02 & TCPTUES196} Sunshine, Lollipops & Rainbows

Wow- already time for iSpy Sketches second challenge! I sure hope that you love our new challenge and if you didn't get the chance to play along last week, then this week is a great time to start:):)

I am combining a sketch inspired by Beate Johns card (see that card and Kim's sketch HERE) with a fun TCP challenge by my fellow Catpacker Jen (also a sketch guru you *might* be familiar with;)

LOVE the rainbow colours and OMG- the lollipop peaking around the side just grabbed me!!
I can hear the song right now........'Sunshine, lollipops and rainbows'...Cloudy With A Chance of Meatballs;) LOVE that movie!

I replaced PJ's pinwheel from What a Blast, with a homemade lollipop, using a 1 1/4 punched circle and Divine Twine (Cherry). The little blue button was threaded with Orange Divine Twine, and the little red buttons were threaded with Aqua! The senitment is from the set Catch My Drift.

I used the Pennant Cutups for the two large banner pennants and the Cloud Border Cutup and stamped the sentiment right on the outer cloud.

Okay- that's it for me! Be sure to check out both the ISSC blog and the Dancing In Pajamas blog for details on how you can join me in both challenges...maybe even combine them, like I did;) A two-fer (my friend Carole's fave;)!

{CTD178 & YNS} New Release Hop!

Hi there! Today Your Next Stamp is releasing some adorable new stamps, adding onto the popular World Kid Collection! I am combining my release card with a exotic colour combo from The Color Throwdown: Very Vanilla, Early Espresso, Summer Sun, Cajun Craze....
I'm first up on the hop, and I used the sweet little boy from Japan for my card!

Okay, now run off to Kerri's blog!!! And don't forget to leave comments along the way..one lucky hopper is going to win a hidden prize! Karen is also having a great 15% off sale at the store to celebrate our release, as well as special pricing on the YNS bundles!

The hop starts on Feb 8th at 3am EST and ends on Feb 13th at 12 midnight EST! Good luck!

And don't forget to play along with CTD's challenge this week.....keyword CTD178 in online galleries.

Thanks for stopping by!

 

{YNS meets iSpy Sketches} Boating Boy

Whoo Hoo!! Are you as excited about today as I am?? Not only is it Your Next Stamp's Fun Friday, where YNS designers show off some cute cards and share great card-making tips....but.......it's also THE FIRST EVER SKETCH CHALLENGE from the newest sketch challenge on the block, iSpy Sketches!
I am so excited to be on the inaugeral design team! The fabulous Kim Teasdale has put together a fun and diverse bunch of stampers, and the best part about this challenge, is that we take our inspiration from YOU! We scope the online galleries and all of blogland for card layouts that inspire us to CREATE! So you never know who we will 'spy' next;) It could be you, or you, or even you (picture me pointing, here;)!
Our very first sketch was inspired by a card made by Loretta Lock spyed on SCS over a year ago! You can see that card on the ISSC blog, as well as Kim's sketch based on Loretta's card:)

Here is my card, using YNS's Ethan out on the Pond....

And a close up of cute lil' Ethan.....

 TCP's waves and button Cutups and some loop de loop bakers twine:

Here's a little tip from me on how to add embellishments to masculine cards....Since I have three boys, I tend to gravitate towards 'little boy' stamps and paper....I love making boyish cards, and I also love to pile on the embellies (one follower said I have a 'junk-it-up' style and I think that describes me perfectly;) Sometimes people think that just because you are making a card for a male, that you can't add alot, but I think thats not the case! Some great ways to add 'personality' and interest to masculine cards are: buttons (either traditional buttons or paper ones created with dies, such as the ones I added to this card), twine, thread, twill, metal accents, glaze, geomatric shapes (think stars, circles, squares), border dies, texture (i.e. cardboard, felt, cork, wood)...See- there are so many choices out there to add some character to your masculine cards!!! Embellishments aren't limited to paper flowers, rhinestones and pearls!

Are you inspired? Want to join us in iSSC's first ever challenge? Here's the info you need:

Here's how to play:

• Create a paper crafting project (card, scrap book page or 3D item), based on the sketch provided.
• Post your creation on your blog or an online gallery (using a code ISSC01), and link it here with the inlinkz widget below. Please provide a direct link to your post - not the generic link to your blog.
• A new challenge will be posted every Friday at 12.01 AM EST, and you have until noon on Wednesday EST to submit your entry.
• You may enter as many times as you like, but please provide a newly designed project with a new link for each additional project.
• We will choose the top 2 creations to be featured in our "Top 2 Thursday" post where we will announce who we have picked :) The winners will receive their very own iSpy Sketches blog badge!
• Don't forget that you may combine our challenges with others and use supplies from any company that you wish :)
• Have fun and we look forward to "spying:" your creations!

And don't forget to check out the YNS blog for more eye candy and fun tips....you might just learn something fun that you can put to use on your iSSC card;)

{TCPTUES195} Color Throwdown Guest!

Hey there! Some exciting news in these parts this month- I am The Color Throwdown's February Guest Designer! Yippee! So excited to be working with such a talented group of ladies this month! Thanks for having me girls!
I'll be sharing fabulous colour challenge cards every Wednesday for the whole month! I am combing this weeks colour challenge with The Cat's Pajamas weekly challenge (TCPTUES195), which was this sketch by lovely Leigh, which lemme tell ya ROCKS MY SOCKS!!!

 And check out this gorgeous colour swatch:

Wanna see what I came up with?

I used the new TCP bunny set, Feelin' Cupidy. I used two bunnies, coloured with cool and neutral copics....I envisioned the bunny carrying the basket full of hearts rather than his bow and arrow. Well, one bunny seemed to small for such a big basket, so I added another:)
Their noses are paper-pieced and the wings and tails have a coating of distressed white stickles and a light dusting of diamond glitter.

The Eggs in A Basket die is blinged out and filled with various hearts using the Heart Trio Cutup and the little leaf that looks like a heart from the Sunflower Rosette Cutup die. The banners are cut with the Pennant Cutup and hearts from the Sunflower Rosette Cutup were added to the flags. Black Licorice Divine Twine bows were tied off at each pennant, making the banner look 'hung' on the card:)

Okay- now it's your turn! Check out the Dancing in Pajamas blog and play along with this weeks TCPTUES195 (your keyword for online galleries)....and if you think the Color Throwdown's combo is a good one, then we'd love to see you play with us there as well (keyword CTD177)! Thanks for stopping by!! See you tomorrow with my blog candy winner announcement!

{KKS113} Handmade Embellishments

It's Saturday and that means another Kraftin' Kimmie challenge. This week Melanie is our hostess and she has challenged us to make our own embellishments! Sounds fun, right?
I used Cheryl Alger's Sugar and Spice for my card.....

Her little dress is paper-pieced (headband stamped twice and on the second, the little centre bow was cut out and popped up and slightly bent for dimension)...I added liquid pearls to the polka dots on the headband and shoe buckles.

Here is a closeup of my hand made rolled flowers and vines...

I put together a quick photo tutorials to show you how I made these easy-peasy scrappy rolled flowers:

Supplies (plus your adhesive of choice..I still have no idea what works best, so don't ask;) See that wierd little screwdrivy-looking-pokey thing? It's a quilling tool (you can buy them at most crafting joints)...I showed another finished flower there too...

First, free cut a circle with your paper snips (I had approx. 2x2 dp scraps left over from my card front, so I used those...the teal flower is obviously made from a smaller square)....you DO NOT have to cut a perfect circle...the more 'off' the better, in my opinion! If you are uncomfortable with a wonky circle, feel free to punch a large circle out)...see the imperfection in my circle? Yep- it's wonky!

 Now just start cutting in a spiral, turning the paper as you cut.

Okay, now stick the tiny end in your quilling tool, with the handle facing in (you can use a pair of fine tipped tweezers if you don't have one of these but I highly recommend buying one- this was about $4)

And start rolling the paper around the end of the tool, wrapping the paper tightly around itself. You want tight- you can loosen the flower up after.

Here's the end of the rolling process. Now you would just pull the tool (or tweezers) out the back of the flower and glue the flower to the end nub (end of your spiral cut).

  Here are two flowers, the striped one 'looser' than the letter dp flower. If you want a looser, or larger flower, just use your fingers to slightly pull the curl out! And with these homemade flowers, it's okay that they aren't perfect!!! They are, after all, supposed to look like you made them!!

Okay- now get to work and make your own embellishments! Check out details on our challenge at the Krafty Blog! Remember that there is always a weekly prize up for grabs! Oh yeah- all weekend we have some great sales on selected Frugal Friday stamps!!

Sketch: CPS 252

{ISSC} A New Sketch Challenge with a Twist!

Whoo hoo!!! Who likes sketches? Who wants to hang with some of the funnest stamping chicks around every week? If you answered YES, then I have a the solution.....there is a brand new sketch challenge on the block: I Spy Sketch Challenge....it is very different from other sketch challenges you know and love, and I am pretty sure this challenge will soon become a fan fave! See the ISSC Blog to see what I'm talkin' bout!
Guess what else??? I am one of those fun stampin chicks that I mentioned above:) That's right, the fabulous master of watercolouring, Kimberly Teasdale, emailed me and asked if I would be on her debut DT! Yippee! Since I am basically a dolt without a good sketch, I had to say yes! And the lineup on this team is truly inspirational and such a postive bunch of ladies... how could you not want to be a part of this? And you can be a part of it too! That's what's so different about it! Okay- get over to the blog and you'll see what I mean;)

We will be back next Friday with a sketch! Can't wait for you all to play with us!

Oh yeah- I'll be drawing my blog candy winner from this post tonight, so you still have time to get your comments in!
Jenny