Day 6 ~ The Daily Marker 30 Day Coloring Challenge

Hello, Friends! The coloring challenge is well underway and you all have been creating some very beautiful artwork! I was commenting on the Facebook group today and boy oh boy! there were so many pretty submissions. I even had a few from little kids! That's always fun to see. I love it when the "Littles" join in. I hope you are having a relaxing time with the challenge. Remember, just 5 or 10 minutes a day is all you need. Color a little or color a lot. This is YOUR challenge, do it the way you see fit. Need to skip a day? NO PROBLEM! Need to skip a week? NO PROBLEM! Just jump in when you can. Okay? Okay.

My coloring for today, is another simple one. This is for the inside of a card. The digi set I used is no longer available, so I'll not even share the name of it. If you've been following my blog for a while you may remember that I played along with the monthly challenges hosted by From The Heart Stamps. Well, the owner/illustrator, Faith Skrdla was diagnosed with brain cancer a while back and she lost her fight almost a year ago. No more pain, no more suffering so for that we are truly grateful. She was an awesome illustrator and a really nice human being. She will be missed in the design world. I loved her PigWits digis the best and that is what I colored today.

This little cutie is printed onto smooth white card stock and colored with Faber-Castell Polychromos colored pencils. The camera doesn't show it but, the cherries are shiny and the icing on the cupcakes has a bit of sparkle. I love this guy! Look at that hair on his chinny chin chin. LoL! Faith had quite a sense of humor and it shows up in many of her designs.

That's it for me today. Time for a little rest. Take care. Thanks for stopping by and I'll see you next time.

Blessings~

The Daily Marker 30 Day Coloring Challenge with From the Heart Stamps

Hello Friends! Happy St. Patrick's Day! I'm doing a two-fer today! I'm posting for The Daily Marker 30 Day coloring challenge AND the From the Heart Stamps monthly challenge. This is a GREAT challenge! Everyone wins! Each month that we participate, we are given a FREE digi stamp set the following month. FREE! You can read more about the challenge, HERE. This month, we were given a super cute digi set  called, Lucky Lil Birdie, that features an adorable bird holding a big ol' horseshoe! Take a look...

Isn't he cute?! The sentiments are great and I adore that font! Soooo...I created a little St. Patrick's Day card.

He's colored with Prismacolor pencils and gamsol. I used Polychromos on the horseshoe. I added a few cloudy clouds to the background and gave the horseshoe a coating with my Clear Wink of Stella glitter brush.

I also finished the inside of the card and I used the large greeting.

I apologize for the blurry photos! I had to use my cell phone camera today. Anywho...that's it for me! Thank you for stopping by and I hope you have a wonderful St. Patrick's Day weekend!


Blessings~

From The Heart Stamps ~ Hogs & Kisses PigWit

Hello, Friends! I know it's been a while since I shared a card featuring From The Heart Stamps but, I'm here today with one. I'm sneaking in one more Valentine's Day card before the end of the month because I'm participating in the monthly challenge. You can read about that HERE. Talk about making it by the hair of my chinny chin chin! LoL! So, this is Hogs & Kisses PigWit. I love this little guy. He's all ready to deliver a sweet kiss...or not!

I decided to use PigWit with the kiss because I knew I could add glitter! Yaaaay!

I printed this little guy onto a piece of Papertrey Ink Rustic White card stock and I colored him with Copic markers and shaded him with Faber-Castell Polychromos colored pencils. I've mentioned before that I like the coverage of Copics and the control I have when shading with colored pencils. A match made in heaven, I tell ya! I paper pieced his little bow tie to match the patterned paper and then as my final touch, I added Garnet glitter to the candy kiss. Soooo adorable! Isn't the sentiment just perfect for the image?

I used another one of the sentiments and a candy kiss on the inside of the card.

I kept things super simple. I just printed the greeting and die cut the panel with a Simon Says Stamp Stitched Rectangle die. I glittered up another kiss to tie everything together.

That's all I have for today. I hope you all enjoyed February, the official month of LOOOOVE!

 Thanks for stopping by!

Blessings~

From The Heart Stamps Monthly Challenge

Hello Friends! Here I am again, sneaking in at the last minute to participate in the From The Heart Stamps monthly challenge. You can read all about the challenge HERE. This month we were gifted with an adorable set that is just perfect for creating summertime cards. It's called Ice Cream Lineup.

I like all of the sentiments and even though the frozen treats are connected, they can be printed out as singles, too. That would be really cute!  Here is the card I created. Very clean and very simple. Click on the images to enlarge them.

The image is printed onto smooth white card stock and colored with colored pencils. I put a little Wink of Stella on the cherry, the spoon and the little cookie on the last treat. For a little more sparkle, I added some Crystal Effects. Then, at the last minute, I decided to sprinkle on a few stars.

This is what I did on the inside...I really like the "Tomorrow we can eat broccoli..." saying. LoL! It cracks me up!

And that is all I have to share with you today. Thanks for stopping by!


Blessings~

supplies~ 
digital stamp set: Ice Cream Lineup(From The Heart Stamps)
card stock: 80lb Neenah Solar White
patterned paper: Cupcake 6x6 paper pad(BasicGrey)
dies: Stitched Rectangle(Simon Says Stamp)
coloring media: Polychromos colored pencils(Faber-Castell)   colored pencils(Prisma)
bling: Iridescent Hearts and Stars glitter(Martha Stewart)  Clear Wink of Stella glitter brush(Zig)
other: Crystal Effects(Stampin' Up!)  Gamsol(Grambling)

From The Heart Stamps Monthly Challenge

Hello Friends! I'm just barely making the deadline for this month's challenge! I colored this little guy up weeks ago, but just didn't feel well enough to make a card. But, I woke up this morning feeling a lot better and decided to give it a go. I was soooo super excited about this month's digi set that I received FREE, just for playing along with the From The Heart Stamps monthly challenge! It is a progressive challenge, that ANYONE can join. All that is required is that we use the Stamp of the Month on our project. You can read more about the challenge, HERE.

Faith, the illustrator of all of these sweet sets, was VERY generous with us, AGAIN. She gifted us this adorable set called Hamlet PigWit in the Planter. Just take a look at it!

One super cute little dude in a flower filled planter and LOTS of sentiments to cover just about any occasion. You've got happy birthday, hello, just because and happy mother's day, too! I decided to make an any occasion card with the Hello greeting.

I just adore this little piggie! He's made an appearance on the blog before. See this post, HERE.
I printed Hamlet onto smooth white card stock and colored him with Polychromos colored pencils. I used my cloud template and Broken China Distress ink to brush on a little cloud detail for the background. Next, I added Clear Wink of Stella onto the Hello and then coated it with Crystal Effects because I wanted it to look like an epoxy embellishment. I sprinkled on a few Sparkling Clear sequins and used my Spectrum Sparkle pen on all of the flowers.

I matted the focal with piece of card stock that I die cut using the Postage Stamp edge die from Simon Says Stamp, then mounted that onto the card base using dimensional adhesive. And that is all there was to it!

Thanks for stopping by!

Blessings~

supplies~
digital stamp set: Hamlet PigWit in the Planter(From the Heart Stamps)
card stock: Recollections 110lb white(Michael's)  80lb Neenah Solar White  Spring Moss(Papertrey Ink)
patterned paper: Brenda Walton 12x12 paper pad
ink: Broken China Distress Ink(Ranger)
dies: Postage Stamp Edge(Simon Says Stamp) 
bling: 4mm Sparkling Clear sequins(Pretty Pink Posh)  Clear Wink of Stella(Zig)  Clear Sparkle(Spectrum Noir)
coloring medium: Polychromos colored pencils(Faber-Castell)
other: Crystal Effects(Stampin' Up!)

From The Heart Stamps Monthly Challenge

Hello Friends! I barely made it in time, but here I am! Each month that I participate in the Monthly Challenge with From the Heart Stamps, I am gifted one FREE digital stamp set. The challenge is fun and easy and anyone can join in. You can read about the challenge HERE.

This month, Faith has given us another beautiful set. This one is called Time to Bloom and it's loaded with lots of good stuff. Take a look...

Pretty, isn't it?! And versatile, too. Well, I chose to use the butterfly/moth and the small flower cluster and I decided to make a few thank you cards with the "Many Thanks" sentiment. Please click on the pictures to enlarge them.

This was really quick and easy to do. I set everything up in a Word document and then printed it. I used a stitched rectangle die to cut them out and colored them with Copic markers. I kept the card design clean and simple, so I could make multiples quickly. After I finished the coloring, I added Clear Wink of Stella to the wings.

For the inside of the card, I used the small flower cluster and colored them with the same colors as the butterflies. Sweet and simple.

I matted the focals with black card stock and then adhered them with dimensional adhesive. A sprinkling of Pretty Pink Posh sequins added the finishing touch!

That's all I have to share with you today. Thank you for stopping by. I appreciate the visit. Have a wonderful weekend!

Blessings~

supplies~
digital stamp set: Time to Bloom(From the Heart Stamps)
card stock: Neenah 80lb, 110lb  Basic Black(Stampin' Up!)
patterned paper: Chalkboard 6x6 paper pad(WeRMemoryKeepers)   Green Leaves Collection(Papertrey Ink)  
dies: Stitched Rectangle(Simon Says Stamp)
bling: 4mm Sparkling Clear, Pink Peonies, Mossy Green sequins, 6mm Tangerine, Pink Blush sequins(Pretty Pink Posh)   Clear Wink of Stella glitter brush(Zig)
coloring medium: Copic markers

From The Heart Stamps Monthly Challenge ~ Happy National Puppy Day!

Hello Friends! It's the beginning of Spring and things are bloomin' and kicking up all kinds of allergies for my peeps! I'm making soup and blending oils and just going in a million different directions. But, I wanted to post this card TODAY!

Soooooo, I am sharing my submission for the From The Heart Stamps monthly challenge. As you may know, it's a progressive challenge and everyone who participates gets a FREE digital stamp set the following month. Because I played along with the challenge last month, I received this month's set called, Digging Dog. It's a super playful set featuring an adorable pup who just couldn't resist a tiptoe thru the tulips. Take a look...

Pretty cute, right? I love that Faith, the illustrator, includes soooo much word art. The font is perfect for this set and there is such a great variety of greetings; birthday, spring, love, apology.

Here is the card I made. It's pretty simple, but absolutely perfect to share on National Puppy Day!

I have had this patterned paper in my stash for years and when I saw the dog digi, I knew I wanted to use it. I printed the image onto Bristol and watercolored it with my Zig Clean Color Real Brush markers.

I used the Happy Birthday sentiment and the floral border, included in the set, for the inside of my card...

Super simple and lots of fun to watercolor. That's all I have to share today. I hope you are having a wonderful Wednesday!


Blessings~

supplies~ 
digital stamp set: Diggin' Dog(From The Heart Stamps)
card stock: Dark Chocolate, Pure Poppy(Papertrey Ink)
patterned paper: Dog Tags(Doodlebug Designs)
specialty paper: Bristol(Strathmore)
dies: Stitched Square(Simon Says Stamp)
coloring medium: Real Color Brush markers(Zig)

From The Heart Stamps Monthly Challenge

Hello Friends! It's been such a long while since we've chatted! I have not been feeling well and am only just on the mend, so I will be super brief! I hope you all are well.

If you will recall, I colored this image on Days 3 and 4 of the 30 Day Coloring Challenge. You can see those posts HERE and HERE.  But, I needed to get it on a card for the From the Heart Stamps challenge and that is what I'm sharing today. Remember, this is a progressive challenge and the only way to earn the next month's free image is to play along with the current month. This is the set we received FREE this month...Snowman and Cocoa.

Isn't it adorable! Look at all of the sentiments! Six of them! And I earned this for FREE just by playing along with the challenge last month. See that post HERE. So, here is my card for this month, featuring this cutie pie...

I went with cool blues to really give it a frosty feeling. I colored the image with Faber-Castell Polychromos. I added Sparkly Fluff to the hat and Crystal Effects to the hot cocoa. I also went over many of the lines with a clear Stardust gel pen, so the card is VERY sparkly.

To add even more sparkle, I punched a few snowflakes from some silver glitter paper and cut them in half, then I tucked them behind my focal panel. I didn't include a sentiment on the outside, because there just wasn't any room. So, I'll put one on the inside later.

And that is it for me! Thank you for stopping in!



Blessings~


supplies ~
digital stamp set: Snowman and Cocoa(From The Heart Stamps)
card stock: 80# Neenah Solar White  textured blue(DCWV)
patterned paper: Altitude 6x6 paper pad(Bo Bunny)
inks: Tumbled Glass, Broken China Distress ink(Ranger)
dies: Stitched Square(Simon Says Stamp)
bling: Clear Stardust glitter pen(Sakura)
coloring medium: Polychromos colored pencils(Faber-Castell) 
other: Crystal Effects(Stampin' Up!)  Sugar Sparkly Fluff(From Our Craft Lounge)


 

The Daily Marker 30 Day Coloring Challenge - Day Four

Hello Friends! Gonna be another quick post today. I was not able to make a card with my little snow dude that I started on yesterday.  But, I did finish coloring him. After I finished coloring, I covered him with a mask and dusted blue ink around him. Then I added Sparkly Fluff to his hat, Crystal Effects to his eyes and to the cocoa in his mug. And finally, using a clear Stardust glitter pen, I accented different areas to add a bit of sparkle. Click to enlarge.

 

Hopefully this weekend I can get him onto a card. I've pulled the papers! Just need to put it all together. Check out yesterday's post HERE to find out more information about how to get this image for just $1.00!

Thanks for stopping by!

 Blessings~


supplies ~
digital stamp set: Snowman and Cocoa(From The Heart Stamps)
card stock: 80# Neenah Solar White
inks: Tumbled Glass, Broken China Distress ink(Ranger)
dies: Stitched Square(Simon Says Stamp)
bling: Clear Stardust glitter pen(Sakura)
coloring medium: Polychromos colored pencils(Faber-Castell) 
other: Crystal Effects(Stampin' Up!)  Sugar Sparkly Fluff(From Our Craft Lounge)

The Daily Marker 30 Day Coloring Challenge - Day Three

Hello Friends! Super short post this evening. I have a DT deadline and a few more cards to crank out before Friday, but...I did want to get in a little relaxing color time! I put on a Michael Buble' CD, brewed a pot of Earl Grey de la Creme Steeped Tea-soooo yummy...and colored this little guy. He's part of the freebie digital stamp set that I was given for participating in the From the Heart Stamps monthly challenge. 

I printed him onto smooth white card stock and colored him with my Polychromos pencils. He's a work in progress and I will finish him up tomorrow and put him on a card. I know there are many of you who live in snowy climes and probably cringe at the sight of snow people images but, I live in sunny Southern California and although my little town does get snow, it's very rare and it's not a lot. I really like snow folk and Faith, the illustrator at From the Heart Stamps draws some super cute ones. She has this series of snow people called Project 100 Snowmen, the images are adorable and they only cost $1.00! No joke. And they are loaded with word art! In fact, the image I am featuring here, Snowman and Cocoa has 6 sentiments in the set and it's only ONE DOLLAR. Check it out!

That's it for me. Thanks for dropping in. I'm relaxed and feeling all warm and cozy after drinking my tea. I'm going to bed now. Good night.

Blessings~


supplies~
digital stamp set: Snowman and Cocoa(From The Heart Stamps)
card stock: 80# Neenah Solar White
dies: Stitched Square(Simon Says Stamp)
coloring medium: Polychromos colored pencils(Faber-Castell)  

From The Heart Stamps Monthly Challenge

Hello Friends! It's time for my card share for the From The Heart Stamps Monthly Challenge. This is a monthly challenge where everyone is a winner. All we do is create a card with the digital stamp of the month and then the following month, we receive a new digital stamp for FREE! It's a win win! And as soon as you're finished here, please buzz over to From The Heart Stamps, because there are some super cute digis over there and you just have to see them for yourself!

Okay...this month, we were given the Cozy Kittens set. Sooooo very cute. Two adorable, cuddly kitties and FOUR sentiments, including I Love You which can be used on many other projects. AND, don't forget, I got this for FREE, just by participating in the challenge last month. This set is also for sale in the online shop.

And here is the card I created...

I printed the images onto Bristol, using the 'fast draft' setting. Then, as I always do, I went over the image with a kneaded eraser. I do this because the eraser lifts off excess ink without smearing or leaving shavings or residue behind. Then, I gave the image a blast with my heat tool. Here is a picture of a kneaded eraser. It can be 'kneaded' into whatever shape you like and once it gets dirty, just keep kneading it and it self cleans. These are really nice, a throwback to my college days when I was in design class. I purchased mine from Hobby Lobby, but I am sure they can be found in any art supply store.

Baaaack to the card...Bristol is not watercolor paper, so I used a damp brush to  move the color around. My technique of choice with the Zigs is a bit different than the one I use with Distress markers. With the Zigs, I lay down color where I want the darkest areas(shading) to be and then, using a damp brush, I start painting in the white area of the image and pull color into it. This way I can make sure I keep my shading and that it gradually gets lighter. After all of the watercoloring was finished, I popped the image back into the circle die and lightly dusted the edges with Tumbled Glass Distress ink.

I added sparkly accents using a Clear Stardust glitter pen and I put a touch of Crystal Effects on their little noses. Then I scattered a few die cut hearts around, went over them with a Clear Wink of Stella and gave them a coat of Glossy Accents, which turned out to be a HUGE mistake, because it changed the color of the card stock and made it darker. I die cut the hearts from the same color card stock that I used on the front of the card and just look at the difference! And that is why I rarely use Glossy Accents! Ugh! I'm going to toss it in the garbage. Crystal Effects does not change the color of things.

I finished the inside of the card, too. Really very simple, but always makes for a nice presentation. This sentiment is also included in the digi set.

You can see here that I did the same thing with the hearts. They actually look black on my monitor. I can assure you, they are not black...more of a deep burgundy with lots of sparkle.

And that is that! Thank you for stopping by! I appreciate the visit!

Blessings~


supplies~
digital stamp: Cozy Kittens(From The Heart Stamps) 
card stock: Bashful Blue, Cherry Cobbler(Stampin' Up!)
patterned paper: Love Me 6x6 paper pad(My Minds Eye)
specialty paper: Bristol Smooth(Strathmore)
ink: Tumbled Glass Distress(Ranger)
dies: Stitched Rectangle, Stitched Circle(Simon Says Stamp)  Hearts(Lawn Fawn)  Stitched Journaling Card(Lawn Fawn)
coloring medium: Zig Clean Color Real Brush pens(Kuretake)
bling: Clear Stardust glitter pen(Sakura)
other: Crystal Effects(Stampin' Up!)  ribbon(Offray)

From The Heart Stamps Monthly Challenge

Hello Friends! I hope that all who celebrated Christmas had a wonderful day! I'm buzzin' in really quickly with a post for the From The Heart Stamps Monthly Challenge. You may have read all about this challenge in a previous post, but if not, you can learn more about it by clicking HERE.

I thought that the image we received for December would make really cute thank you cards for this time of year. And that's what I made. Take a look...

I printed the image and greeting together, because that made mass producing it easier. And I did a bit of paper piecing! I haven't done that in a while. I did very little coloring on this image. I colored the little mouse, did some shading on the bear and gave him some ground to stand on.

I glued half of a pom pom onto his hat and added Sparkly Fluff to the furry parts. Then, I used a clear Wink of Stella and a clear Stardust glitter pen to add some sparkly accents.

The focal image was die cut with a stitched rectangle die and matted with patterned paper that coordinates with the papers I used for the presents. I mounted the focal onto a pale blue card base and called it finished!

So, that's it for me for 2015! I thank each of you for your support and for visiting my bloggie. Stick with me because I have some VERY exciting things to share in the next few days!

Oh! One more thing...THIS card was selected as one of the Top Three Winners over on the Christmas Card Challenges blog! Soooo fun! I get this really cool badge to display, too. Play along! You'll be glad you did when December 2016 rolls around and you know it's coming, so just play along! Okay?! Okay!

Blessings~

supplies~
digital stamp: Gift Stack Teddy Bear(From The Heart Stamps)
card stock: 80# Neenah Solar White    Blue textured(DCWV)
patterned paper: Christmas Stack(DCWV)
dies: Stitched Rectangle(Simon Says Stamp)
bling: Clear Wink of Stella(Zig)   Clear Stardust glitter pen(Sakura)
coloring medium: Copic markers
other: Sugar Sparkly Fluff(Our Craft Lounge)  pom poms(Darice)