Laugh Out Loud for Whimsical Wednesdays and a HUGE ANNOUNCEMENT

I had such fun with this inspiration photo! And I LOVE that quote.

 
I was so inspired by the way the plants around the outside reach into the center that I tried to recreate it. And such wonderful bright colours!

 
If you’ve never made a clear card, you should think about sandwiching your clear acetate between your paper layers, mats and embellishments. Here, the wavy paper is on the inside with most of the adhesive under the oval and flower. The pink layer is also on the inside of the front of the card with the glittery side showing through the front. The white CS writing area is inside the card back and the patterned paper layer is on the back. This way, all of the adhesive remains hidden.I also used Mojo Monday 141 and Skipping Stones Design Sketches considering they were very similar. I love it when I can do three or more challenges at the same time!

The ovals I used are all much larger than any template or Nestability I own (Nesties don’t come larger). So here is how I got larger ovals.

 

 

 
I have a set of these little metal disks from a fine woodworking store. They are great for adding a set amount to a curved edge. You insert a pencil into the center of the disk and draw your line. SU! used to sell a small one of these. I used these for the pink cardstock layer and the DP layer. The inner oval was also traced because I wanted to exclude all of those flowers and it would have taken longer to trim them using the ‘out of the box’ technique.

OK, so now for the HUGE ANNOUNCEMENT. This is the only week in June that we will be having a challenge. You must create a project inspired by the photo above. You have until June 20 8 PM CST. I that is 9 PM EST. You may enter as many times as you like and the more you do, the more likely you are to win!! So what are you playing for???

ONE winner will receive:

TWO Kraftin' Kimmie stamps of Choice, sponsored by Kraftin' Kimmie Stamps!

This HUGE prize from Tamiko's:

1.  Spellbinders Frameabilities Scalloped Edge Frame
2.  1/4" Scorepal tape
3.  Sticky thumb adhesive tape
4.  Memento Tuxedo Black Ink Pad
5.  Robin's nest tear drops
6.  Robin's nest dew drop
7.  Robin's nest mini dew drops
8.  2-3 bags of Lion coffee (a little something from Hawaii)

A FREE Digital Image sponsored by Daredevil herself, Sara Henton

TWO Rubber Stamps from a newly released  BabyBud Designs (manuf. by C.C. Designs) sponsored by Daredevil Krista VanTol!

ONE 4x6 Set of choice from The Greeting Farm

Can you BELIEVE the generosity of these sponsors???   I am SUPER stoked for this and it's nothing we've ever had the privilege to offer our players before.  I cannot WAIT to see who the random winner is!

So, go forth, create and have a blast doing it! For more inspiration, be sure to visit all of the DareDevils this week! I can’t wait to see all of your creations.

Enjoy, Rebecca

RECIPE
Paper: DP-Imaginisce, CS-shimmer Bazzill, clear CS-PTI
Accessories: foam dots-Jody Morrow, K&Co-coloured rhinestones, floral rhinestone-stash, Oval Nestabilities, Zva-white rhinestones, white polka dot rub ons-SU!

Glittery Lateness for Whimsical Wednesdays!

OMW, in a year and a half, I have never FORGOTTEN a Whimsical Wednesdays (formerly Twinkling Tuesdays) post! So much has been happening that is other than my normal routine I seem to have been thrown a curve ball!

This week’s challenge, by Emilie and Kaeli, was to use lots of sparkle and glitter on your project. I made this cute little ATC that will go to a kid in a swap I am hosting, Kids Love ATCs.

I added pink glitter to her tutu, white glitter to the DP using red line tape and Taylor’s Tiny Twinkles to her bun. I hope that is glittery enough for ‘s girls.

I’d like to send a HUGE thank you to Sweet Pea stamps for their generous gift of three stamps this month! They were an AWESOME sponsor! And much thanks to Randi for organizing the whole shebang!

So for June, we DareDevils are taking a break every week except next. But we have a HUGE prize package for anyone who plays next week’s challenge. And when I say HUGE, I mean HUGE!!!  Best thing, you may enter as many times as you like and you have ALL MONTH to play! Sound good? Tune in next week for the challenge and the hugest prize we’ve ever had!!!

Make sure the DareDevils get some love this week; be sure to visit all of their blogs and leave a nice comment. And don’t forget to play this week too! Upload using DDSC37 and link with Mr Linky using the DIRECT link to your project!

Enjoy, Rebecca

RECIPE
Stamps: CTMH
Paper: riding hood red CS, DP-SU!, white CS-Taylored Expressions
Ink: riding hood red, Memento black, white-PTI (to tone down the DP brightness)
Accessories: Tiny Twinkles, Art Institute Glitter, foam dots-Jody Morrow, Copics: R20,22, E00,21,31,33,35,37,93

Flame Mermaid ATC for Whimsical Wednesdays ETA: Butterfly Mermaid Card

Wow, time got away from me like crazy today. I am not used to spending the whole day out on Tuesdays as I usually take it easy since it is my church night. It is all I can do to make it there on time some days so I try not to add anything much to Tuesdays. This time however, the night was switched to Thursday and so Spencer and I went to the park, for ice cream and did a few errands. I hardly slept last night so when we got home, we had a bath and a long nap and I am still tired. I know, get to the ATC already. I just wanted to explain why I have only an ATC and not a full card to show you today. I am going to turn the other ATC I did into a card later today and add it to this post in the afternoon.

I coloured this one for a Non-Cutesy Mermaid swap on Swap-Bot. It was actually a lot more vibrant IRL if you can believe that. I tried different lighting including sunlight but I just couldn’t capture it. Oh well.

ETA: Here is the card I am finally getting to post at 11PM, eek!

 
This is the ATC I did that became my feature image for this card. It was going to be for a PRO Artists ATC swap (yep, I was accepted!) but it wasn’t quite PRO enough for me yet it was just asking me to do something with it. For all of you who think ATCs are cool but don’t know what to do with them, this is it! Trade ‘em with your friends and then challenge each other to make cards with ‘em. It is fun, I promise! Although it looks like the background here is white, it is actually a pale blue with purple tones to it, B60. A lighter version of the colour I used for the leaves made from dotted lines (click for a larger image) in the top left corner. Is that seaweed? or is she on land and that is a hanging vine?

Anyway, I used Heather’s DD, Piper’s sketch. According to the notes she had her mom include, the butterfly image was not required nor were all 4 of the corner butterflies. So cute huh?

Thanks to Sweet Pea stamps for being our Sponsor this month. I would NEVER have bought them but I am having SO MUCH FUN colouring them and I am SOOO GLAD to have them!! It is so freeing colouring a fantasy image that really has no rules for the colouring. I like to keep the skin tones natural, that’s just me but other than that… anything goes.

Be sure to check out the Whimsical Wednesdays blog to see the sketches, yep two of them, for this week and I will add the one I plan to use when I add my card later. (ETA DONE!) Be sure to upload your project to online galleries using DDSC36 and link it up with Mr Linky. Don’t forget to visit all of the DareDevil’s blogs and leave them some great comments.

Enjoy, Rebecca

RECIPE
Flame Mermaid ATC
Paper: white CS-Taylored Expressions
Ink: memento black
Stamp: Sweet Pea
Accessories: Spica white glitter pen, Copics-V12,15,17, Bv08, Bg72,75,78, B24,29, B32, Rv06, Y21,35,38

Butterfly Mermaid Card
Paper: Taylored Expressions, Sultry DP-Basic Grey
Stamp: Sweet Pea
Ink: memento black, worn lipstick Distress
Accessories: (best guess, Spencer erased this file too), R81, 83, 85, 89, B60, 63, G21, YG 03?, E00, 21, 31, 33, 35, 37, 95, BV ? (thing in her hair), Y35, MS butterfly punch, Sultry brads-Basic Grey

Mermaid for Whimsical Wednesdays

What a fun week for creating! Last Tuesday, way too late to create another card, I received my awesome stamps from Sweet Pea Stamps. In case you haven’t heard about them, here is a little bit of info.

The VERY generous Lynette, owner of Sweet Pea stamps has provided the DT with some beautiful stamps to use throughout the month and has a $20 Gift Certificate to give away to ONE LUCKY WINNER this week! Sweet Pea Stamps range anywhere from whimsical to artistic. They are made of high-quality, unmounted red rubber. They have an amazing collection of images from three talented fantasy artists: Ching-Chou Kuik, Elaine Cox, and Lisa Victoria. If you would like to see more samples, please check out the Sweet Pea Stamps blog.

 

I loved colouring this stamp. I usually do either soft or vintage colouring so this was quite the fun and colourful departure!

Thanks to young Kyah, daughter of team member and our illustrious team coordinator Jacquie. What a FUN and interesting sketch! This girl ROCKS!

 
I decided to use some awesome but very BRIGHT DoubleMates paper for the card base and the mats. DoubleMates are a series of cardstock papers with TWO colours, one on each side. I wish I had turned the purple paper over to reveal the darker side which could have been sanded to reveal the lighter side. This way, I would have had to sand almost all the way through  to get the dark purple to show through. Both layers for the mats are actually from the same piece of two-sided cardstock.

Be sure to check out the DIEDRICH DARE Blog for all the details, and a special thanks to Lynette and also our Daredevil Randi,  for setting this up! Make sure you play along using DDSC35 if you upload to an online gallery and don’t forget to link your card or project back to Mr Linky on the Whimsical Wednesdays blog.

Enjoy, Rebecca

RECIPE
Stamps: Sweet Pea, PSE sentiment
Ink: eggplant-SU!, memento black
Paper: coloured CS-Double Mates, white CS-Taylored Expressions
Accessories: flowers-taken off stem from Michaels, K&Co rhinestones, ribbon-stash, Copics Y35, RV21, E00,21,95, V000,12,17, B60, YG03,06, g24, BG 09,10,15,22,49, Blender 0, Rv95

Oven Thank You for Whimsical Wednesdays

My mom and dad are renovating their kitchen so they gave us their stove which is much nicer than what we had. So I decided this would be a perfect opportunity to make a thank you card using a fabulous sketch from a special young lady.

I know my mom will ADORE this cute paper from Thrift Shop just like I do. I kind of wish I had used chalk ink for the sentiment so it stood out more but I added the buttons to draw the eye to it.

Isn’t this a great sketch? So detailed for a kid! This one is the work of Katie, Team Member Andrea’s daughter. I am definitely going to save this one. We are going to have some more sketches from Team Members kids this month. We also have a NEW SPONSOR! this month, Sweet Pea stamps. I have to thank Randi for arranging for us each to receive THREE actual RUBBER STAMPS!! Thanks for the stamps Sweet Pea! I only got mine this afternoon living in the boonies here in Canada (kidding! I only live 40 minutes from Toronto!) so I will create with mine next week!

Please visit all the DareDevils, especially Andrea’s to comment little Katie for her sketch! I hope you will play with us too, be sure to make a project with the sketch, upload it to your blog or gallery with DDSC34 and come back to Whimsical Wednesdays and link up with Mr Linky. Be sure to use the direct link, not your general blog link.

Enjoy, Rebecca

RECIPE
Stamps: Cornish Heritage Farms, sentiment-unknown
Ink: Vintage Photo,  Antique Linen Distress Ink
Paper: riding hood red, vanilla-SU!, Thrift Shop, Fly a Kite-October Afternoon
Accessories: vintage lace, gingham ribbon-stash, flower-Scrapbook Sally, foam dots-Jody Morrow, buttons and twine-PTI, Copic E31 (to darken the gingham ribbon), crystal effects-SU! (to make the strawberry look like an epoxy brad)

Sunflower Colour Challenge for Whimsical Wednesdays

This week’s challenge was to use green, yellow, white and black. These aren’t colours I gravitate towards so this was truly a challenge for me but to be honest, I like that!

Sorry the right side is so dark. I didn’t realize that one of my lights was ‘rearranged’ by my baby and so I fixed it but that series of pictures was out of focus. I really need a macro lens! The sketch is by 2 Sketches 4 You. I really liked using it. In fact, I have another card planned that will use it too.

Be sure to play with the DareDevils this week using the challenge colours. I hope you will play too and link up with Mr. Linky and/or upload to a gallery with DDSC32.

Enjoy, Rebecca

recipe to be added later

Pink and Brown Apron for Whimsical Wednesdays

I LOVED this week’s inspiration challenge by Madelynn. I mean who wouldn’t love this room! I WANT that chandelier! I took inspiration from the colours of course, but also the framed aprons on the wall. Be sure to enlarge the photo if you can’t see them clearly.

The apron ‘strings’ actually tie around the back of the card. Cute touch huh? The pocket sits away from the apron too. I adhered the bottom in a slightly smaller diameter circle than I cut the pocket with. This means that the sides will angle in slightly especially when you push them that way. Leaves room for a 3-D object in the pocket. I haven’t found anything to use so I hope to find a doll rolling pin perhaps to stick in there. I might even glue one end of a note to it and wrap the rest around the pin tying it with ribbon. The recipient would unroll the paper to read the message.I traced around an oval Nestie for both the ‘armhole’ and the bottom of the pocket and hand cut them.

This month we have an AWESOME new SPONSOR, The Greeting Farm (TGF)! They provided me with a great image for use this week. But this is the funny part! It is an image of a teen/tween aged boy! Umm, how do I do pink and brown with a boy… So I hope you will come back next week to see ‘Jake’!! You have to play along with the inspiration challenge this week though because if you do, you can win a great prize from TGF! So channel your inner girlie girl and find inspiration in this room! I think we are all playing this week so be sure to check out all of the DareDevils blogs, links on my sidebar or find a full list at Whimsical Wednesdays. Don’t forget after creating a fabulous project using the inspiration photo, to link up on the WW site with a DIRECT LINK using Mr Linky! If you don’t, you won’t be entered to win! To upload to a gallery, use DDSC30.

Enjoy, Rebecca

RECIPE
Stamp: Cornish Heritage Farms
Ink: chocolate brown
Paper: Bittersweet-Basic Grey, chocolate CS-SU!
Accessories: Bittersweet brads-Basic Grey, sheer white ribbon (I gathered it)-stash, chocolate pearls-Dollarama, pink ribbon and rickrack-stash, Nestabilities

Where the Love Is for Whimsical Wednesdays

We have another  great sketch from the Diedrich gang this week. Thanks to Jack, I think, for the sketch I worked from but as it was on my iPhone I can’t show it to you. Wonder why? I like to keep my iPhone handy at all times. That includes reading emails while I soak in the tub. I know, it sounds crazy to have my beloved mini computer next to water but it has worked for over 1.5 years. Today, the baby picked it up while standing in the tub. I panicked and tried to grab it from him and I/we/he dropped it. It seems fine but we have it sitting in a container with silica just in case any water seeped in, so hopefully it will be OK. So I’m sorry but I can’t share the sketch with you.

The stamps for this card are actually a set with separate door, windows, clouds etc so you can kind of design a ‘scene’. I airbrushed the background, masking my clouds as needed. The flower stems are a dotted line stamp that I think was designed to be used as smoke from the chimney. The leaves were made with a heart stamp. I coloured the scene with Copics, the colours were on my iPhone too, sorry. I’m listing the ones I can remember: W 1, 3, 5 V95 (it was V9_) R 06, 81, 83 G21, 63, BG 10 B 12, 23,32, 4_, 91, 93, best I can do!

Thanks to The Character Cafe for their sponsorship this month. Visit next Wednesday to find out who the new sponsor is! Please visit the Whimsical Wednesdays blog for the sketch this week; I’m so sorry I can’t show it. I hope you will visit all of the DareDevil’s blogs; I’m sure they have FABULOUS projects to show you! Once you are done your take on the sketch, leave a DIRECT link using Mr Linky on the WW blog so the team can all see your work. Want to upload to a gallery? Please use DDSC29.

Enjoy, Rebecca

RECIPE
Stamps: CTMH
Ink: navy-SU!, black-Memento
Paper: blue (not sure which RR blue), navy CS-SU!, white CS-Taylored Expressions, DP-CTMH
Accessories: Copics, Copic Airbrush system, clear Dew Drops

Calvin Card for Whimsical Wednesdays

This is another The Character Cafe image, graciously donated to the team, as they are this month’s sponsor!

I love those soft puppy dog eyes, don’t you? He also comes with Get Well written underneath and an ice bag on his head, so cute! It was lovely working with these digi images this month. It was also really fun to play with the sketch by Jack. I sure intend to keep this one around to use again.

I used Copics 100, 00, W 1, 5, 7 E 31, 33, 37, 53, 71, 77. The warm greys were used for the shadow, the E 70’s for the nose with a touch of 100-black; had I used all black, the detail would have disappeared. The blender was used for the nose highlight.

Please play along with the Dare Devils this week! This is your LAST CHANCE to enter to win a $10 GC from TCC!! You have got to love this sketch so come on, play already!! Visit all of the team members to see their FABULOUS creations! Don’t forget to leave them some equally FABULOUS comments! When you are done your card or project upload to a gallery using DDSC28 and leave a DIRECT LINK of the Whimsical Wednesdays blog using Mr Linky! Have fun!!

Enjoy, Rebecca

RECIPE
Stamp: digi by TCC
Ink: printer, Distress vintage photo, antique linen
Paper: granola DP-Basic Grey, white CS-Taylored Expressions, vanilla, cocoa, buckaroo blue CS-SU!
Accessories: hardware-SU!, ribbon-stash, punch-EK Success, Copics

Dragonfly Cards for Whimsical Wednesdays

These are the last two dragonfly cards I’ll get finished before the deadline to send them in. If you haven’t read my previous posts about the card drive, please read HERE.

I actually managed to get two done with this week’s sketch. TIP: The ribbon below is white twill coloured with a Copic marker. I didn’t like how much white showed through the twill texture so I sprayed it with alcohol in a Mini Mister. This dissolved the colour and allowed it to soak through the thickness of the ribbon.

Just two other quick notes. I added pearls to both cards. They are harder to see in the photos than IRL but I think they add a nice touch. The background for the butterfly is airbrushed with B12 and a handcut cloud template. I am really having fun with the airbrush system. I can’t believe I had it for well over a month without playing with it!

I hope you will all play this week’s sketch! Isn’t it a fun one, courtesy Nikki? The DareDevils would love for you to visit their blogs to see their work! Everyone is playing except Valerie and Kim. Please be sure link up your card so you can be eligible for this month’s prize from our Sponsor, The Character Cafe. Make sure you leave a DIRECT link to your post at Mr Linky on the Whimsical Wednesdays blog, not the link to your main blog page. I am very sad to say that Sandra is resigning after this week. We will really miss you, Sandra! I’ve really enjoyed your fabulous, creative cards! Best wishes with your new job, DTs and your family!

Enjoy, Rebecca

RECIPE
Stamps: flourishes-Autumn Leaves
Ink: Baja, celery-SU!
Paper: Baja, white CS-SU!, LilyKate DP-Basic Grey
Accessories: foam dots-Jody Morrow, twill-stash, Copic markers, airbrush system, Jesse James buttons, Nestabilities, scalloped punch-SU!

Puppy Love Treat Cover for Whimsical Wednesdays

I decided to go for a 3-D project this week. I can’t wait to use it for the next friend who gets a new dog as a welcome home ‘card’. I love making cards but why not try something different now and then? I used an adorable image by our FABULOUS Sponsor this week, The Character Cafe, called Puppies and Kitten. Our inspiration for this week is…

 
I made my kitty grey too with green eyes though they are so small it is very hard to see them! This treat bag was so easy to make. Here are the overall measurements and scoring directions.

Start with a 4.25 x 11” piece of CS. Score at 3.5”, 4.5”, 5.5”, 9”. Fold the paper into a W with the remaining 2” folded down as the flap. You may want to cut it smaller, it depends on the width of the border punch you want to use and how much waste it creates.

 
You could put a piece of acetate in the oval hole but as I will be adding doggie cookies inside a zip top bag, I didn’t think it would really add anything. The edges are all sponged with Distress ink which helps the border stand out also.

Here are my Copic marker colours:

I sure hope you will all play this week! Any project is welcome! Be sure to use keyword DDSC26 when uploading to an online gallery. Come back to add your DIRECT LINK to Mr Linky so we can all see your work and leave you comments. I can’t wait to see what you do with this week’s inspiration! Don’t forget, there is a $10 GC from The Character Cafe for one participant this month!

Enjoy, Rebecca

RECIPE
Stamps: digi stamp-TCC, puppy love-See D’s
Ink: Antique Linen, Fired Brick Distress inks
Paper: vanilla, chocolate CS-SU!, white CS-Taylored Expressions, paw print paper-stash
Accessories: Labels 4 Nestabilities, large oval Nestabilities, Copic markers, Martha Stewart cornice punch, bone punch-unknown, clear EP-SU!, foam dots-Jody Morrow

Sugar Mill Gracious Hostess Card for Whimsical Wednesdays

I tried making 4 different cards before I finally found one that actually worked with this bow. I tied it around one card then decided it was too elegant for the feel of the card. So off it came and I started again, three more times!

I knew it would finally look right somewhere! I love the stickers from Melissa Frances that look like old advertisements, signs and labels.

I stretched the sketch a bit but I think it works. I didn’t manage the brads in the corners though. I hope you will have fun with this week’s sketch. Use DDsc25 when uploading to a online gallery and don’t forget to drop by Whimsical Wednesdays to include your DIRECT Link in the Mr. Linky list!

This month we have a WONDERFUL SPONSOR, The Character Cafe, so be sure to enter for a chance to win a $10 GC for their wonderful digi stamps. I will be featuring one next week for Whimsical Wednesdays.

Enjoy, Rebecca

RECIPE
Stamp: PTI Mega Mixed Messages
Ink: chocolate-SU!, Antique Linen Distress
Paper: chocolate, ivory CS-SU!
Accessories: Cuttlebug Textile Embossing Folder, Fiskars corner punch (tag), ribbon-Wal-Mart, foam dots-Jody Morrow, PTI twine, Sugar Mill sticker-Melissa Frances

Heart Envelope for Whimsical Wednesdays

This is one of the simplest cards I’ve ever made. I am not exactly a CAS kind of girl most of the time. I like my bling and pearls and ribbon and…

No, it isn’t just you, this card pic is out of focus. I have tried so hard to get sharp images, I think it MUST be camera shake (me) or the camera itself because I have been having a terrible time; the settings are all correct for how I like to shoot. I have to go back to the  store and get them to diagnose the problem.

Anyhoo, I made the template for this cute little envelope by reducing the size of a template from Wal-Mart on my printer/scanner. I used a punch out from the triple heart SU! punch as a template for the hearts which are cut from wool and acrylic blend felt from The Felt Girl on Etsy. Though based in the UK, the shipping was quite reasonable and the product is quite good quality! This card idea was inspired by a card made by Julie Ebersole. Her’s didn’t have the diagonal hearts, I added that to go with the sketch for this week by Madelynn. I made another  card more like Julie’s, it is shown below. This is a neat sketch huh? It leaves lots of room for many different techniques.

WAA HOO I hope you will all WELCOME Andrea Murdoch to our team!!! As you might have noticed from the notations on my sidebar, a couple team members have temporarily stepped down for a while. So, since Jess likes to keep  the team at 13 (not sure why), we are creeping up in numbers again. Be sure to visit her blog to welcome her to the TEAM! I can’t wait to see her FABULOUS work!! After visiting everyone, be sure to play this week’s sketch. Leave your DIRECT URL with Mr Linky so we can all see your work and if uploading to an online gallery, be sure to use DDSC24.

Last but not least, be sure to let me know which card you like best. I think I like the second one better but I really like both.

Enjoy, Rebecca

RECIPE
Stamp: PTI mega mixed messages, background basics-hearts
Ink: ridinghood red-SU!
Paper: white, kraft CS-SU!
Accessories: wool felt, SU! triple heart punch (as template)

Swinging “Whee” Card Tutorial for Whimsical Wednesdays

I started out not too inspired by this colour challenge. I am more into pastels, muted and jewel tone colours. With bright pink, pink, turquoise and grey-green, I was kind of stuck. I started with one of my new Pure Innocence girls from MFT and I found a pack of paper I had forgotten about with the required colours in it! No way, really? WAHOOO! Then I remembered a card by Jody Morrow where she had the girl actually swing back and forth on the front of the card. It was a fabulous tutorial but after I saw her card, I thought about it for ages, I was sure there must be a wee bit easier way to get the same effect.

As you can see, I DID IT!! Now my tree isn’t nearly as impressive as Jody’s which had many, many leafy punch outs to make her tree, with a trunk, she had a fence and grass… I decided to try going with a faster card and I’m glad because I am so pleased with it, my kids want me to make more! I am going to do  tutorial for you which also meant making another card so everyone is happy!

Step 1. Stamp the image on white CS. If you want to colour with a specific medium, make sure the paper matches your choice of colouring tools. Stamp the ropes part of the image again. Leave a circle of cardstock at the top of the ropes. (mine isn’t trimmed into a circle yet, see next photo)

Step 2. Cut out the image, DO NOT cut out the space between the ropes. Cut off the hands on the ropes-only image (I did the final trimming after this photo), cut off the tree tufts on the full image. Colour, paper piece or embellish as you wish. You will see in my photos I left that for later but only because this is a tutorial. You will need to overlay the ropes, gluing them together to make them longer. You could of course just use the length of rope attached to the image but you will only get a very short swinging distance that way. The photo shows approximately how much overlap you need.

Step 3. Choose your background paper, in my case, I used cloud paper from MME. You can add grass or other ‘landscaping’ as you wish but keep them near the bottom so they don’t interfere with the swinging action. Lay your girl over the background paper. It may need to be quite large, especially if you want grass or a fence etc., my cloud paper alone is 4.25x5.5”. I know a lot of this photo is fuzzy but that is because I focused on the brad.

Step 4. Referring to the photo in step 3, notice the brad I have chosen is quite flat-headed. It is a diamond shape but I photographed it from the side to show how thin it is. Sorry I couldn’t get in closer, I don’t have a macro lens for my good camera. Notice too that there are now holes punched in the papers. A small one, 1/16”, at the top of the ropes and a larger one, 3/16”, in the background paper. The larger hole must allow the brad prongs to swing freely, if you use a larger brad with larger prongs (this one has an 1/8” head and slightly smaller prongs) be sure to use a bigger hole if needed. Put the brad through the  holes attaching the girl to the front. Make sure you fasten the brad very loosely as seen in this photo but the prongs need to be flat. If needed, put a few layers of CS under each prong and press flat; the CS will prevent the prongs from tightening on the paper. See how loose it is from the front?

Step 5. Create your tree top. I just hand drew a tree top from CS. If you’d like the file, email me and I’ll send it to you. In the photo you can see the dud tree top I made. I thought I could make it more lifelike by cutting slits and lifting them up with foam dots to get some dimension but I hated it. So I cut another and the first one became a sponging template. First sponge all the entire tree top edges with a similar or slightly darker ink. Then placing your sponging template as shown, slightly askew, start sponging your ink. I just use a pouncing (straight up and down motion) with a bit of an angle away from the template. Continue sponging, moving the template back and slightly askew each time (so there aren’t perfect rows of leaves), until you are at the top of the tree.

Step 6. Now you need to add foam dots to the back of the background paper (clouds), one in each corner and one near the brad but not close enough to interfere. (Please ignore the white strip of CS near the brad, I goofed.) The tree also needs foam dots along the edges and I have carefully placed two as stoppers for the girl so she doesn’t swing off the edges of the card too much. It really doesn’t matter but as you can see, she has foam dots on the back of her too and those will catch as she swings off the edge and you have to fix her. Not as fun to play with. The foam dots on her are optional but I found that she swings better when the foam dots, WITH BACKING PAPER STILL ON!, because there is less friction against the background paper. I marked the placement of the ‘stopper’ foam dots buy placing the tree temporarily in its final location, swinging the girl as far as I wanted her marking the locations with a pencil. Then I added the foam dots to match. These pencil lines are ones I made to show you what I have done. The pencil lines you make will be on the front of the tree; mine were too small to photograph.

Missing from this photo are the C-3 and the clear Spica I used to colour the dots (nails) on the swing. I used E00 and E21 for the skin with E93 for the cheeks. E08 and E37 for her auburn hair (I always use more than one colour). Pink Spica for her shoes, W-5 and E71 for an aged wood look for the swing. And finally RV19 for the heart in her hair.

That is the action part. Now all you do is adhere your tree as in the final card photo and finish your card. A couple tips. If you will be giving this to a small child were it will receive some serious playtime, consider backing your girl with the white chipboard from the back of paper packs or gluing a toothpick to the back of the ropes. Adding a penny to the back of the image will make her really swing quickly but I think she is quick enough. If using a penny, definitely reinforce the ropes. Can’t find a flat-headed brad? Use a hammer to flatten a round-headed one or use double foam dots to lift up the tree higher to clear the brad. Whatever you do, DON’T MAIL without some serious protection to make sure the brad doesn’t flatten. I accidentally flattened mine while feeling where the brad was on my finished card to locate it to make my tutorial card. I accidentally squished it and had to slide my bone folder underneath to loosen it up, NOT EASY!

Thanks to mom Jessica for the colour challenge this week. I actually like it when a challenge is a TRUE challenge for me sometimes and this was a good week for it because I started early. I hope you will blurf to see what awesome creations the other DareDevils have in store. I am always even more excited to see what they do when I start off struggling to think of what I am going to do! As always, be sure to leave them all some great comments. They work so hard every week making a commitment to bring you such fabulous artwork! Come on, you gotta try it! Visit Whimsical Wednesdays to see the colours, tag your project with keyword DDSC23 if you want to upload to an online gallery and return to the WW blog with a DIRECT link so we can all see your take on the challenge!

Enjoy, Rebecca

RECIPE
Stamps: Whee Pure Innocence-MFT
Ink: memento black, Ancient page turquoise, celery-SU!
Paper: DP stripe, pink polka dot-SU! cloud DP-MME, white CS mat-SU!, white CS image-Taylored Expressions, sweet blush CS-PTI
Accessories: foam dots and circles-Jody Morrow, brad-SU!, ribbon-May Arts, flower eyelets-stash, ribbon tag trio die-Spellbinders

Snowman Lovin’ for Whimsical Wednesdays

I super love these sweet Pure Innocence images from MFT. This cute little one was perfect for the weather around here! –5 degrees C or 23 degrees F. Yuck!!

The colours are actually a bit deeper IRL; the photo is somewhat overexposed. I tried to adjust the exposure but the detail was blown out. (That means the pixels simply weren't captured so they can’t be brought out by adjusting the photo digitally.) Grrr! Which means it is hard to see the embossing within the scallops of this EK Success punch. And I totally goofed again, notice I forgot to colour her hair! I was rushing but I did have a few seconds to colour her hair, poor thing! One other thing, the Liquid Appliqué wasn’t dry enough to heat it, so it isn’t as puffy as it will end up. In case you can tell, I covered the BG coloured areas on the design with W-1 to deepen the shade because they were too  bright to match the paper. A great technique I learned from Debbie Olson; thanks Debbie!

 
It seems this week we have a sweet sketch from the littlest Diedrich, Ava! I thought this was a great sketch and I had fun playing with it. In fact, I had TOO many ideas! Yeah Ava!

I hope you will all welcome a new Team member, Sara Henton! I am DYING to see her project this week! But as I tend to get up a bit late, you will all get there first right? Because you are all going to visit all the DareDevils blogs to see their takes on the sketch right? Be sure to visit the Whimsical Wednesdays blog and leave some love for Sara, leave DIRECT links to your creations AND see who won the AWESOME FREE Unity stamps Jessica offered last week! Thanks Jess! Be sure to use DDSC22 when uploading to an online gallery. Please note: Jacquie N, Kris and Darla (or was it Debbie?? umm…) won’t be playing this week.

Enjoy, Rebecca

RECIPE
Stamp: MFT
Ink: Sntique Linen Distress Ink, Memento black
Paper: Jolly by Golly, vanilla CS-SU!
Accessories: foam dots-Jody Morrow, Liquid Applique, Nestabilities, Copics, EK Success Embossing Scalloped Punch