Baby Boy

Crafter's Companion Bebunni "New Arrival"

A friend of mine is having a baby boy very soon and I wanted to make her a card.  Plus, I bought this stamp and needed a reason to use it - haha.  I need to make a confession here, making cards for little boys and men are much more difficult then they are for girls and women.  I had the image colored and the "Too Cute" stamped but I was so stumped on a layout yet again.  This seems to be a recurring problem so I think maybe it's time to find a book of card sketches to work from.  What was some of my inspiration for this card is the challenges I am entering it into, see them below.

The following is the list of Spectrum Noir markers I used to color this image:

Bebunni - IG1, IG2, IG4, IG6, IG7, PP1, PP3, PP5
Balloons - LG1, LG2, LG3, LG4, LG5
Blanket - LG1, LG2, LG3, LG4
Sky - TB2, TB3

I used the Blender Re-Inker and applied it to a cloth then dabbed the cloth to Bebunni and the blanket to give them both a soft, textured look.  The paper used is from AUTHENTIQUE: Precious Collection titled "Precious Boy" and "Kaleidoscope".  Added a few buttons, some twine, cut a tag shape with my Cricut, tied BoBunny's Double Dot ribbon to it and dabbed it with Versa Color "Fresh Green" ink.  Finished it off with a green flower gem.  What amazed me was I came up with this layout myself knowing I wanted to keep it somewhat simple but add layers and dimension with different cardstock and embellishments.  I also managed to incorporate two techniques that I have mentioned before - "Outside the box die cutting" and "Clean inked edge with a die cut".

CHALLENGES:

Loves Rubberstamps Challenge - Anything Goes LRSCB93
Spectrum Noir Monthly Challenge - Green
Cute Card Thursday - Challenge 311 "What a Gem"

Birthday Cards for my Mom

Crafter's Companion Everyday with Barkley "Be Fabulous"

Here it is as mentioned before, the post about the birthday cards I made for my mom as per her request.  I am showcasing the Everyday with Barkley stamp because I entered it into a challenge this week.  To see all of them just scroll down further after the CHALLENGES section.

Barkley is such a wonderful pup and his companion, this adorable cat, is just as much fun to work with.  I had a blast trying to get creative with the hat box because in real life they come in so many different colors.  As you will see, if you scroll down further, I did a differnt color scheme with the same image but a different layout.

The following is the list of Spectrum Noir markers I used to color this image.

Cat - GB2, LY1, CR2, CR5
Hat - PL1, PP1, PP2, PP4, BT1, BT4
Hat Box - BGR1, BGR2, BGR4, DR6, OR3, IB2, JG1, CT4, PL5, inside - PL1, PP2, PP4
Shadows - BGR1, BGR2, BGR4, IG1, IG3, IG4

A ribbon and some "White Opal" Liquid Pearls add the finishing touches to this card.  It can be for a more mature adult birthday or even for a child.

CHALLENGES

The Pink Elephant - Theme Challenge "Birthday"
Loves Rubberstamps Challenge - Anything Goes LRSBC93



Here are the other cards that I made for my mom.  Again, her request was for a more mature crowd - meaning not too childish.

Great Impressions Stamp

This image is stamped twice - once on vellum and again on cardstock - to give it that shadow effect.

Both cards stamped with Great Impressions "Peacock"

Both of these cards are embossed images using Martha Stewart's "Antique Gold" and "Sterling" embossing powder.

Crafter's Companion Stamp - It Australia "Dreamy Daisies"

I used 6 Spectrum Noir colors for these images: CT1, CT4, GB5, DG2, DG4, and CG1.

Crafter's Companion Everyday With Barkley "Be Fabulous"

Here is the other layout and color scheme for my showcased card.  Purple is one of my daughter's favorite colors so I may have to make this one again for her birthday.

Art Impressions "Girlfriends"

Many different Spectrum Noir markers were used for this card but I thought it definitely fit the crowd my mom has as friends.  If I had more time I would have made a couple of these ones but as it was I only made her the one.  Maybe she'll get one from me for her birthday this year.

That's all of them.  She has received them already and loves every single one.  She even said that when she hands them out to her friends she will be telling them that her daughter made them and if they want the can order some from me through her.  Thanks mom for the support!

Embossing and Coloring

Great Impressions "Rose Trio"

When coloring with Spectrum Noir markers you want to be able to blend shade and colors together, which usually means flat lines that can be colored over if needed.  Well, I thought I would try embossing and coloring to see if the shades would still blend.  I found that if you still color over the lines you end up with wet color that is still blendable into the next section.  The blending technique still worked even with the roses being embossed.  I am quite pleased with how this turned out.

I stamped this image using Versa Color "Pinecone" ink and embossed it with Tsukineko's "Iridescent" embossing powder.  The "Happy Anniversary" stamp is from Stampendous Special Messages set and was stamped with Versamark Watermark and embossed with Martha Stewart's Sterling embossing powder.

The following is the list of Spectrum Noir markers I used to color the image.

Roses - CR10, DR3, DR7
Leaves - CG2, DG3 (palette blended)
Shading - BGR1

CHALLENGES:

A Gem of a Challenge - Challenge #114 Anniversary
The Friday Mashup - FM149 Flowers/Monochromatic

More Fun with Barkley

Crafter's Companion Everyday with Barkley "Special Friend"

Barkley truly is an adorable pup and is such fun to color.  I had a great time with all the Christmas stamps that Crafter's Companion had of Barkley and now I am enjoying his Everyday collection.  With this particular card I was, again, attempting a new technique - Inked Die Cuts (which I learned from Becca at Amazing Paper Grace).  I had fun learning this technique and have since bought myself (FINALLY) a new set of dies that I have already started to use.  Learning new techniques and playing with new stamps is so much fun!!

I did not add this card to the collection of cards that I was making for my mom, but I guess I could have as it is not at all "childlike".  I will post the images of the cards that I made for her since I have completed them all and mailed them off.  Hopefully she likes them.

The following is the list of Spectrum Noir markers I used for this image.

Barkley - BG1, IG1, IG5, IG6, IG8, IG9, CR2
Cat - GB1, LY2, BG1, CR1, CR2
Hammock - CR11, DR1, DR2, DR5, DR6, blender
Flowers and Leaves - CG1, CG2, DG3, CR5, PL1, PL2, PL3

I also used Cuttlebug's Swiss Dot's embossing folder and Basics by Kaisercrafts Pearls to add some dimension to the card.

CHALLENGES:

Cute Card Thursday - Challenge 310 Springtime
Simon Says Stamp Wednesday Challenge - Anything Goes With Pearls

The Wine of Friendship

Crafter Companion's S.W.A.L.K. "Wine of Friendship"

This past weekend I have been busy making some birthday cards that my mom had asked me to make.  Her request was that they be for a more "mature" group which was a bit difficult for me as most of my stamps are geared toward the younger group.  I went searching the many magazines I have and even searched the internet and have discovered that for the most part feminine cards have lots of flowers or butterflies.  Now don't get me wrong, those are very nice and yes for they do sell in the stores but I was looking for something different, something outside the normal.  I went to one of my favorite sites, Spectrum Noir, and went searching through their tutorials to see what ideas they had and I found this beautiful stamp that was definitely more mature then most of the stamps I have.  This meant a trip to my local store, Treasured Memories Scrapbooking and Cards to see if they have this stamp.  Lucky me they did and it was on sale!!

Back home with my new stamp, and an extra one that I will post later, and straight to work I go.  What should happen but creativity block!!  OH NO!!  Back to the computer, but this time I searched my favorite blog sites to see what their challenges were this week - sometimes the best inspiration can come from a challenge.  Found a few that I still had time to enter and decided on how I was going to put this card together.  The end result - a cute but more mature card.

The following is the list of Spectrum Noir markers I used to color this image:

Left Side Woman:
Hair - BG1, BG2, BG4
Skin - TN2, FS2, FS3, CR3
Shirt - IB1, IB2, IB3
Skirt - BG2, BG3, BG5, BG6
Shoes - IB3
Eyes - BT9

Right Side Woman:
Hair - IG10, EB3, EB5, EB8
Skin - TN2, FS2, FS3, CR3
Shirt - PP2, PP4, PP6
Skirt - CT1, CT2, CT4
Shoes - CT4
Eyes - EB4

Table and Chairs - TN3, TN5, TN6, LG2, LG3
Wine and Glasses - CR1, CR2, GG1
Shadow - IG1, IG2

CHALLENGES:

Loves Rubberstamps - Challenge 91 "Use a Funny Sentiment" LRSBC91
The Pink Elephant - TPE238 Sketch Challenge
A Gem of a Challenge - Challenge #133 Spots AND Stripes
Just Us Girls - Challenge #228 Color

Just for Fun

Crafter's Companion Bebunni "Celebrate"

So the other day I just wanted to play around with more of the new stamps I had purchased and decided on Bebunni again.  But this time I also wanted to work more with color matching so I went and purchased coordinating papers from Treasured Memories - the papers are Bo Bunny's "Suprise! Stripe" and "Surprise! Dots".  I figured I would start with the paper and use my Spectrum Noirs to color match the image.  I had great fun using the color chart from Spectrum Noir and lining up my papers to match.

Here is the list of Spectrum Noir markers I used to color this image:

Bebunni: IG1, IG2, IG4, IG6, PP1, PP3, PP5
Balloons: BT3, BT7, BT9, CR3, CR8, CR9, CR11, GB4, CT1, CT3, CT4, CG1, CG2, CG3

I then used my glossy accents (really love this product) to make the balloons pop and shine.  Still enjoy that new technique with the die cuts so I definitely need to get more of them to have different shapes.  A few flowers, a dew drop, some ribbon and rhinestones really made the card come all together.

As I was coloring this card my youngest daughter wanted to use her new starter kit of card making supplies she got for Christmas, so I let her join me at the table and craft away while using my Spectrum Noirs.  This is her beautiful card (which she gave me permission to post here).

Crafter's Companion S.W.A.L.K. "Best Friends"

She is getting much better with her color selections and soon I will teach her some of the coloring techniques I have learned.

Sketch and Theme

Crafter's Comapanion Toread's "Xeru"

Sketch's (layouts) have always been something I've wanted to try with stamping.  I've done them with just paper and embellishments but never have I included a stamped image.  I always found them to be a bit more difficult, which was probably all in my head now that I see it can be done.

Another thing I found difficult was making masculine/boy cards.  Pretty much every stamp image I have is more geared towards little girls or babies, so whenever my daughter got invited to a boy's birthday I would struggle with making him a card.  Since I got the Toread's from Crafter's Companion it will be much easier to make cards for those such occasions.

What made this more enjoyable was combining two themes from different challenges to create one card.  Look below to see what challenges this card was entered in.

The following is the list of Spectrum Noir markers I used to color this image.

Hair: CG1, CG2, CG3, DG4
Skin: FS2, FS3, TN2, TN5
Leaves: DG1, DG4, CG2
Ribbon: LG2, LG4, LG5
Clothes: EB2, EB3, EB5, EB7, EB8
Club: BT4, BT5, BT7
Club Sling: TN3, TN6
Shoes: BT4, BT5, BT7, TN3, TN6

CHALLENGES:

Just Us Girls - #226 Sketch Challenge
Spectrum Noir - Masculine Challenge
Crafty Cardmakers and More - #109 This is a Man's World

Fun With Color

Crafter's Companion Toread "Sky"

What I love most about stamping is that you get to be so creative with the colors you choose to color the image with.  I find with stamps of people though, that I limit myself to the hair colors I use, like browns, blonde's, reds, or blacks.  However, with fairy tale type characters, like Sky from Crafter's Companion Toread collection, my imagination can run wild with so many different color combinations.

I decided that I wanted to try purple hair for once so that is what I did for Sky.  Once I picked the hair color it was a bit challenging to select the colors for the clothing.  At that point I went with what papers I had to coordinate with the color purple.  In the end, this is what I came up with.  The little bling in the corner was a creation I did from 2 different straight strands of rhinestones just to give the card a bit more pizazz.

The following is the list of Spectrum Noir colors I used for this image:

Hair - LV1, LV2, LV3
Skin - FS2, FS3, TN2, TN3, CR3
Clothing - CR10, OR1, OR2

I am truly enjoying the multitude of new stamps I got from Crafter's Companion and Treasured Memories Scrapbooking and Cards.  I can't wait to create more cards with the Toread's line.



CHALLENGES:

Loves Rubber Stamps Challenge - LRSBC89 Anything Goes
Cute Card Thursday - Challenge #306 "Something New!"

Love is in the Air

Crafter's Companion Party Paws "Hugs from Bamboo"

With Valentine's Day just around the corner many people start thinking about what are they going to get their loved one.  One great things about being a crafter and card maker is that I create many of my gifts and cards that I give to family and friends, therefore I don't need to run to the store and search the multitude of cards to try and find that "perfect one".  I make the card to say what I want to say and find the perfect image within my stockpile of stamps and images.

Just like I did with Bamboo here.  Crafter's Companion has such cute little critters and Bamboo is no exception.  This is also not your typical Valentine's card and therefore could be used for just about any occasion that you feel needs a hug - anniversary, get well soon, with sympathy, or even just because you were thinking of someone.

The following is the list of Spectrum Noir markers I used to color this image:

Bamboo - IG7, IG8, IG9, CR3
Gift - TB5, TB6, TB7, BP3, BP4, BP5

I had used Ranger's Glossy Accents for Bamboo's nose and the "With Love" sentiment is stamped using Stamp-it-Australia's "Dreamy Daisies" set.

CHALLENGES:

A Gem of A Challenge - Challenge #112 All You Need is Love
A Creative Romance - Challenge Show Us Some Love
The Pink Elephant - TPE235 "Love"

Another New Technique

Crafter's Companion Bebunni "Hearts" Collection

I love finding new techniques to try.  Okay, they may not be entirely new but they are new to me and therefore that makes them NEW.  This time I discovered one on Spectrum Noir's Blog titled "Thinking Outside the Box".  I was actually looking for other Bebunni images and how they were colored using Spectrum Noir markers and stumbled across this technique.  To learn more about it check out this link: Thinking Outside the Box.  Thank you so much Christina Griffiths for this amazing and fun "new to me" inspiration for my cards.

The following is a list of the Spectrum Noir markers I used to color this image:

Bebunni - BG1, BG2, BG3, BG4, PP1, PP3, PP5
Hearts - DR4, DR6, DR7.

I used Tsukineko's Memento Black Tuxedo ink and Ranger's Glossy Accents to add some finishing touches.  I also had used Versa Color's Red Rose ink for the sentiment and embossed it with Tsukineko's Iridescent embossing powder.

I hope to make more cards with different dies to use this technique again.

CHALLENGES:

Spectrum Noir Challenge - Animals/Critters
The Pink Elephant (TPE) Challenge - Color Challenge Pink/Red

Trying A New Technique

House Mouse Designs Happy Hoppers - Hoppy Valentine's

I love House Mouse Designs and have always used my watercolor pencils to color them but I had found a new technique on Spectrum Noir that uses the Blender Re-inker to create the fur look, so I thought I'd give it a try.  It's a little hard to tell in this picture how well it worked but I am going to keep trying as I have many House Mouse stamps and others with teddy bears and bunnies.

This particular stamp I have never used until now.  I love the picture but could never get a layout in my mind for it.  I really wanted to try the new technique though and thought why not try it out on an image that I haven't used.  Hop-It is such an adorable little bunny and who doesn't love chocolate!!  With Valentine's Day a month away I may have just found the image I will use for my youngest daughter's cards.

The following is a list of Spectrum Noir Markers I used:

Hop-It: BG1. BG2, BG3, PP1, and blender re-inker to create the fur look
Box of Chocolates: TN4, TN5, TN6, TN7, PP2, PP4, DR2, DR3, DR4
Shadow: IG1, IG2

I accented the box with pink rhinestones and then added a metal buckle and red satin ribbon to finish the card off.  I hope you all enjoyed this and to find out more techniques using Spectrum Noir Markers and Re-inkers check out the link above.

CHALLENGES ENTERED

Spectrum Noir January 2014 Challenge - Animals/Critters
House-Mouse & Friends Challenge - #HMFMC161
Loves Rubberstamps Challenge - Use Metal (LRSBC86)
A Gem of A Challenge - Challenge #110 Something New
A Creative Romance Challenge - Something New
Gruffies & Guests Challenge - Here We Go With Anything Goes

It's All New

Crafter's Companion Party Paws: Bamboo's Treats

Welcome to 2014 and the home of my new blog.  I had unfortunately forgotten the username and profile for my previous blog due to lack of using it, and have therefore created this new blog.  I had also taken a bit of time off from creating new cards, hence the lack of use, but now that I am back at it I figured why not start something new for the new year!  I plan on entering my cards into as many challenges as I can find, so please have a look at the links I include with each post for the challenges each card is entered.  If you find other cards by other bloggers please have a look at their blogs too.

My first post is of the cute and adorabale Bamboo from Crafter's Companion.  He is such a cute cuddly little bear that can be either a panda, a brown or black bear, or even a cute teddy bear (if you used some imagination and added maybe some stitching to him).  I think he makes a lovable panda bear myself!  This card was created for a friend of mine that had a little girl not too long ago and was going back to work while still working her Epicure business.  I figured she needed a gentle reminder to make sure she treated herself too.

Here is the list of Spectrum Noir markers (my coloring tool of choice right now) used for this image:

Bamboo: IG1, IG7, IG8, IG9, PP1. PP2
Glass: LY1, GB3, GB4
Bubbles: HB1
Bottle: EB6, LY1, LY2, CG2, CG4, TN4, TN5
Snail: GB3, GB4
Tub: PL1, PL2, PL4, PL5, LV3, GB3, GB4

I had used Tsukineko's Memento Tuxedo Black dye ink to stamp the image and accented Bamboo's nose with a dab of Ranger's Glossy Accents for depth.

CHALLENGES ENTERED:

Spectrum Noir January 2014 Challenge - Animals/Critters

Loves Rubberstamps Challenge (LRSBC85) - Anything Goes

Crafty Card Makers Challenge - Bear With Me