Meet Asia

Happy Monday peeps!
This is my first official post as an InStyle Chickie and today I'd like to introduce you to "Asia". Isn't she adorable?
You can find her right here.

Whenever I post an InStyle project, I'll be sharing step-by-step instructions with you.

Here's how I put together my card for today:
I started with a 5.5 x 4.25" base of Bermuda Bay and attached a 3.75 x 5" piece of white cardstock with rounded corners. Then I cut 1 x 3.75" strips of three colors and punched a scallop border. When I punched the borders, there is a small strip of cardstock left over. I saved the green one (see photo above).

Attach the scalloped strips to the bottom of the card, leaving some white showing.
(hang on to that extra green strip)

Next, I printed out "Asia" onto white cardstock AND yellow patterned paper. I cut the white printed image to 3.75 x 3" and I cut just the bathtub from the yellow patterned paper.

I colored the image with Copics and then attached the yellow patterned paper bathtub with dimensionals. Then I attached it to the card, just above the scallop layers. To make the top look more finished, I added that little strip of green paper that I had leftover from my punch.

Voila! Finished card!
Now comes my favorite part.....embellishing!!

I added some "waterfall" blue Stickles and liquid applique to make bubbles.

And what card of mine would be finished without jewels?!

It was all finished off with a rub-on sentiment that I thought went perfectly with the image.

Here's another peek at the finished card...

And here are the Copics used...Here's a quick tip regarding paper piecing...

Before I attach my patterned paper with dimensionals, I always take a Copic marker of a similar color and fill in the edges of my image.

That way, when you see the image from the side, it's nice and matchy-matchy.

Okay kids, that's it for me today! Thanks for popping by!

Christmas Stampin' All Year Long

Today we've got a sketch challenge for you over on the CSAYL blog! Our fabulous sponsor this week is InStyle Stamps and I'm using an adorable digital image called "Scarf Chick". I really love how the blues and greens came out on this one. The patterns are from an SU pack called "Newsprint". I used some scor-tape and cream ribbon to make this yummy ruffled edge.
For the main panel, I cut out a large rectangle with a Nestability and then used a gold paint marker along the edges. Then I added my little anime cutie and popped up her hat with dimensionals.

Hop on over to the CSAYL blog to see the sketch and play along with us!

Have a great weekend!

For a sweet friend

Happy Monday everyone. Hope you all had a super weekend!

I picked up this cute patterned paper by American Crafts a few days ago and have been itchin' to use it. I thought it would be perfect for a bright cheerful card. I had no idea what I was going to do when I sat down to make this, but here's what I ended up with. The main image is by Sugar Nellie and was lots of fun to color. To finish of this card, I used some Melon Mambo polka dot ribbon and a felt button. I think I accomplished "bright and cheerful".
Thanks for popping by today!

A little anime

So is everyone still stuffed from Thanksgiving?
Yeah....me too.
I used a couple of vegetarian recipes from The Pioneer Woman and they were DELICIOUS! And since my family was still eating left-overs all weekend, that meant more time for Mom to stamp!

Here's one of the cards I came up with... My friend let me borrow a couple of new stamps that she got from Sugar Nellie. You can see the other card I made here. Since I used so many colors on the first card, I decided to make this card look completely different.
I colored the main image with my grey Copics and just a hint of pink on her cheeks and the bow in her hair. I dug around in my black and white scrap bin (yes....I have my scraps organized by color) and was thrilled to find a small piece of patterned paper from an old collection by Love, Elsie. I thought it worked perfectly for the whole "anime" look that I was going for.

To finish it off, I did some hand stitching around the border and added some thick felt ribbon by Creative Imaginations and layered on a cute patterned ribbon on top.

This isn't my usual style, but I was really happy with how it came out. Sometimes it's hard to step out of your comfort zone, but give it a try sometime. You may surprise yourself!

Talented Friends

I've got two good friends who both had exciting news to share today.

First up, my friend Lauren has a HUGE announcement.
Click here to read all about it!

And in other news, my good friend Maria is the guest designer this week over at Character Cafe! As part of her guest design spot, she posted a sketch challenge. For those of you who know Maria, you know she creates THE BEST sketches! And for those of you who know me, you know I can never resist one of her sketches!

Here's what I came up with for her guest designer sketch challenge. My friend picked up this cute image (I think from Sugar Nellie) and I swiped it from her stamp room when I stopped by earlier this week. Isn't she adorable?
I used a green Copic marker to color some Scrappers Floss and then tied a button onto my ribbon.
And yes, this is another Japanese card for my mother-in-law. She watched the kiddos so my hubby could take me out to dinner for my birthday yesterday.

When you have a chance, stop by and wish Lauren good luck on her latest endeavor and then head on over the the Character Cafe Blog to join Maria's sketch challenge!
Thanks for coming by.