Egg Hunt

The theme for One Stitch at a Time Challenge #206 is Anything Goes. StitchyBear's Digi Outlet has hundreds of digital products from many wonderful artists, and if you use one of our products you'll be entered to win the super-duper main prize of 7 digis. If you don't use a store image, you'll still be in the drawing to win a $3 gift certificate. 

I always get a laugh from this Bunny Break digi stamp from Stitchy Stamps. I put him on an Action Wobble so that he's hopping along on his Easter Egg Hunt!

The "Hoppy Easter" sentiment is from BrossArt, and the Easter Accessories are from KennyK. The clouds are cut with IO dies, and the little candy pieces were all handcut. Time-consuming, but totally worth it! I inked the clouds with SU! Barely Banana ink.

I colored the images with Copics, and used a ZIG glue pen to add fine Flower Soft to the bunny costume. I used two leaf ribbons and some recycled mesh  for the bottom portion. I put a layer of green tulle between the card mattes for a little texture.

Inspiration/Challenges:

1. Action Wobble Challenge: Spring + Action Wobble
2. Aud Sentiments Challenge #103: Easter or Spring Sentiment
3. Brown Sugar #87: Easter
4. Kreativeinkauf-challenge: Easter Bunny
5. Polkadoodles #13: Spring Is In The Air
6. Simply Create Too #58: Easter or Use Bunnies
7. Sparkles Forum Challenges #54: Easter Parade

Update: This placed in the Top 5 for Aud Sentiments's Easter/Spring Challenge. Thank you!

Thank you for visiting, and hope you'll join us this week at One Stitch at a Time,

Mid-challenge reminder: Baby Blog Hop at Crafting with Dragonflies

At Crafting with Dragonflies we're celebrating all things Baby-themed with a Challenge & a Blog Hop! There are tons of prizes to be won, but you need to enter the challenge and the blog hop.

You have until April 1 to enter, so please check out the easy-and-fun instructions at Crafting with Dragonflies.

Order of the Baby Blog Hop

Crafting with Dragonflies

Tania

Hilde

Wynn

Sammy

CG (you're here)

Judith

Ina
Susan

Crafting with Dragonflies 

Here's my project, a never-ending card:

Please do not comment on this post for the Blog Hop; my main post is here.

Thank you for visiting,and hope you'll join our Baby Challenge & Blog Hop at Crafting with Dragonflies,

Pile On the Pretty Hair!

Our theme this week at Pile It On is Pretty Hair. The challenge is sponsored by The Paper Nest Dolls, and they their images are just perfect for this challenge. One lucky participant will win a $25 gift certificate to their store!

I used their Popcorn Ellie digi stamp and a sentiment from TLC Creations to make a movie-themed card:

The polka-dotted patterns are actually digitally pieced using PhotoShop and a digital overlay by Mel Stampz. I colored the rest of the image with Copics. I chose a Butter Blonde palette for her hair color!

The popcorn pieces are cut from a foil package of popcorn...Yum!

The popcorn on the image is filled with a Snow Marker (Marvy) to give it a puffy effect. The base card and mattes were cut with Spellbinders dies using my BigShot. I added some red mesh (recycled from vegetable packaging) and glittered ric-rac.

Inspiration/Challenges:
Cards in Envy: Anything Goes with an A2 card
Cuttlebug Mania: Dotty + non-electronic die cutting machine
Die Cuttin Divas Challenge #157: Snack Lovers + Die cuts
Melonheadz Friends: Girly
Our Daily Bread Designs Challenge: 6 of Something (6 pieces of popcorn!)
Pumpkin Spice #64: Dots
The ABC Challenge: H is for Hair
The Paper Nest Dolls Challenge #6: Anything Goes

Thank you for visiting, and hope you'll join us this week at Pile It On,

Bloomin' Spring Fever with Catered Crop

I was thrilled and, frankly, quite shocked when my On the Road card was chosen as one of the "Winning Recipes" for Catered Crop's Safe Travels Challenge. Totally made my day month! Aside from the honor, I was also invited to be a Guest Designer for the current Catered Crop, with the theme of "Spring Fever".

My mom makes the most beautiful Flowerpot Cards, and she gave me a template for it several years ago but I think this is only the second time I've used it.

The closed card is lovely in itself, and people have a wonderful reaction to pulling out the inside card.

I used the back of the pull-out card as the message section.

click images to enlarge

This project is a mix of hand- & die-cut elements. The flowerpot and card are hand-cut, but I cut the flowers and bugs with a Hero Arts/Sizzix stamp-and-die set and the lattice pieces with QuicKutz/Lifestyle Crafts border dies. This is my first time using these border dies, and I'm smitten...the metal bends with the paper to give a great cut without harming the die.

The flowerpot, pull-out card, and sentiment piece are from a printed/glittered Kraft paper pack (Recollections). Using makeup sponges, I inked the green/message parts with Wild Wasabi classic ink (Stampin' Up!) and the "terracotta" parts with Red Brick chalk ink (VersaMagic).

The stamps are rubber, so I used stamp markers (American Crafts and Marvy) to ink each section with different colors. The images were then colored with Copic markers. I stamped onto a coated Hammermill cardstock, so I got both great stamp quality and smooth marker shading.

The leafy ribbon is a printed felt, so it stands up really well. I wasn't so easy threading & tying it, but it was worth it. Many thanks to Linda & everyone at Catered Crop for inspiring me to have so much fun!

Inspiration/Challenges:
Catered Crop: Spring Fever
City Crafter Challenge #203: Spring In The Garden
Divas by Design: Flowers
Hobbycutz #39: Shaped Card

Thank you for visiting, and hope you'll join the fun at Catered Crop,

Baby blog hop at Crafting with Dragonflies

At Crafting with Dragonflies we're celebrating all things Baby-themed with a Challenge & a Blog Hop! There are tons of prizes to be won, but you need to enter the challenge and the blog hop. One lucky commenter on each blog will be eligible to win a special prize (besides the great main prize). The sponsor for this stop on the hop is Handmade Harbour, who are offering six digis!

To complete the hop, go to every blog and collect each person's "secret words"...once you've done that, just think about numbers and Babies and maybe Google those things to find the final clue. Please don't share the secret words in the comments, but do leave a comment on each blog to let us know you visited. You'll send the final clue in an email to our wonderful blog owner, Hilde...but go to the main blog for full details. Plus, Hilde has an adorable free digi for you as well.

Order of the Baby Blog Hop

Crafting with Dragonflies

Tania

Hilde

Wynn

Sammy

CG (you're here)

Judith

Ina
Susan

Crafting with Dragonflies 

Part of the fun of this blog hop isn't just sharing our baby-themed projects...we're also sharing baby stories & photos. Here's Baby CG eating chocolate cake for her first birthday:

Because we lived overseas, and my parents' families lived in different states, I got at least three first birthday parties! My folks were always good about limited my intake of sweets, but I love that they shared this baby tradition with all of their family & friends.

Here's my project, a never-ending card:

The front features two freebie digi stamps: Baby Clothes by Crafting with Dragonflies, and Patchwork Heart by Handmade Harbour.

click images to enlarge

I stamped the sentiment (Our Daily Bread Designs) onto a die-cut piece of paper-backed fabric. The patterned papers are from my stash.

The next page features Baby in Bed with Patchwork Quilt by one of our fabulous sponsors, Handmade Harbour.

The sentiment/baby carriage digi stamp is a freebie from Bird's Cards, and the stork images are from TLC Creations.


The next page just shows off some of the pretty papers. I added some faux stitching on the striped pieces, plus some cute stickers.

I couldn't resist using this sweet Baby again for the message page.

Have you guessed my secret word yet? Please leave a comment, and then hop on over to Judith's blog to collect your next word!

Thank you for visiting,and hope you'll join our Baby Challenge & Blog Hop at Crafting with Dragonflies,

Forever Punk

This week at Pile It On we're looking for card and projects for Men/Boys. That can mean almost anything!

Although this isn't my team's week, I couldn't resist using this fun Duncan Disorderly digi stamp from our sponsor, Doctor Digi's House of Stamps.

I made the sentiment using the free version of the Keep Calm font from K-Type, and printed it on a light gold paper that crumpled really well.

I made the "floor" with a piece of a can of lager. I embossed it with a Cuttlebug folder and sanded it. The "wall" was embossed from a gray-and-black Core'Dinations cardstock with a homemade embossing plate.

Duncan Disorderly is on an Action Wobble, so he is, in the words of my husband, "appropriately shakey"!

Sketch N Stash #134

Inspiration/Challenges:
Craft Your Passion: Young at Heart
Digistamps 4 Joy #87: Birthday sentiment
Flat Friends Challenge Cards 4 men
Ladybug Crafts Ink TLT Challenge: One For The Boys
Paper Pretties Wednesday Challenge #301: Birthday cards
Scrap It Girl March Challenge: Birthday
Sketch N Stash: Sketch + new or neglected items (beer can from stash, new ribbon)

Thank you for visiting, and hope you'll join us this week at Pile It On,

The gift of time

This week at One Stitch at a Time (OSAAT), our theme is Use a Digi. StitchyBear's Digi Outlet has hundreds of digital products from many wonderful artists, and if you use one of our products you'll be entered to win the super-duper main prize of 7 digis. If you don't use a store image, you'll still be in the drawing to win a $3 gift certificate. 

I used Cuckoo Clock by Ike's Art.

I printed the image onto woodgrain-patterned paper (Echo Park/Lori Whitlock), as well as a white cardstock. I colored it in wood shades with Copics, and pieced it on top of the patterned oval. I cut the oval frame with my Silhouette, from a different woodgrain-patterened paper. I added some detail to the image with glitter pens.

I stamped the sentiment (Our Daily Bread Designs) in Tye Dye distress ink onto a scrap of patterned Kraft paper (K&Company). The background was made by embossing a Core'Dinations cardstock. I sanded it a bit and distressed it with Antique Linen ink (Tim Holtz).

Inspiration/Challenges:
Crafty Girlz #13: Anything Goes
Cards Galore Encore: Use a stamp or digi stamp
Crafty Bloggers Network: Nature
Love to Create: Anything Goes
A Song in your He{ART}: "Time Flies"
The Crafting Cafe: CAS
WordArt Wednesdays: Anything Uplifting Goes

Thank you for visiting, and hope you'll join us this week at One Stitch at a Time,

Easter Daffodils with Pink Gem Designs at Pile It On

Our theme this week at the Pile It On Challenge is "Easter Joys," so I made this Joy Fold card featuring Daffodil Vase by Pink Gem Designs:

I colored the Daffodil Vase with Copics, and the center flower is popped up with foam tape. The vase was pieced with a shiny white paper, colored with Sakura glaze pens, and coated with Ranger crackle paint.

The "Happy Easter" sentiment is from a Fiskars rubber stamp set, and is heat-embossed onto white silk ribbon from MayArts (this was the very last of this spool of ribbon...must get more!) The ribbon is finished with some liquid pearls. The green mesh is recycled from a bag of avocados!

The Joy Fold card is one of my favorite techniques, but I haven't made one in ages (see my past Joy Fold cards here). It opens up to reveal a sentiment from a Hero Arts rubber stamp, heat-embossed in two green Stampendous powders:

The leafy background was made with a K&Company clear stamp set and the same two colors of embossing powders. I added some Liquid Pearl accents in the corners. I used a Cuttelbug folder to deboss some of the white pieces, and backed everything with a bright green, textured Core'Dinations cardstock.

Inspiration/Challenges:

1. Card A Day Blog: Baby, Spring, Congratulations or Easter
2. Charisma Cardz #5: Something Not for Crafting (mesh from bag of avocados)
3. Crafty Boots: Green
4. Crazy 4 Challenges: Be Sentimental
5. Created With Love Challenges: Think Spring
6. Emergency Crafters: Flowers
7. Love to Scrap: Create your own Background
8. MarkerPOP Challenge: Lucky Green
9. Really Reasonable Ribbon #90: Show me the Green & Ribbon
10. Sweet Stamps #151: Fun Folds

Update: This was the winner for Sweet Stamps Challenge #151!

Thank you for visiting, and hope you'll join us this week at Pile It On,

On the Road! - Shaped Cards at Crafting with Dragonflies

It's time for a new challenge at Crafting with Dragonflies! We're focusing on Shaped Cards, so I made this fun road-trip card featuring an image from one of our sponsors, MilkCoffee:

The MilkCoffee digi stamp was colored with Copics and paper-pieced. It's on an Action Wobble, so it bounces down the road!

My parents are going on a trip to South Africa next month, so I wanted the road sign to reflect that. The sign, road, and card bases were designed in SCAL and cut on my Silhouette. I embossed and sanded the road.

Inspiration/Challenges:
Catered Crop: Safe Travels
Die Cut Divas: Let's Emboss it + die cut
Glitter n Sparkle: Add a Sentiment
MilkCoffee Challenge: Embossing
Through the Purple Haze: Use a Digi

Update: This was one of the Winning Recipes for Catered Crop's Safe Travels Challenge. Wow!

Thank you for visiting,and hope you'll join us at Crafting with Dragonflies,

Just Sayin...Anything Goes at OSAAT

This week at One Stitch at a Time (OSAAT), our theme is Anything Goes. StitchyBear's Digi Outlet has hundreds of digital products from many wonderful artists, and if you use one of our products you'll be entered to win the super-duper main prize of 7 images! If you don't use a store image, you'll still be in the drawing to win a $3 gift certificate. 

I had lots of fun with this Cutie by Beary Dust Stamps:

This image has bold shadowing, so I decided to use paper piecing rather than coloring. I did color her skin with Copics. I used some tulle to give her a fishnet top! I stamped the sentiment (Hero Arts, I think) in Broken China distress ink. The notebook edging on top was cut with a Pagemaps die. I edged it with Tea Dye and Antique Linen distress inks.

The text-patterened papers are from a Bazzill set. I cut one sheet with a die from the same Pagemaps set. The background paper was sprayed with a blue Tattered Angels glimmer mist.

I painted some Prima wood shapes with white acrylic paint, and stamped the sentiment (Rogue Redheads Designs) with more Broken China ink.


Inspiration/Challenges:

• Artistic Inspirations: Anything Goes/For the Kids
• As You Like it Challenge: Favorite 3D Texture & Why (Tulle: it's easy to adhere and cut, so it's fun to use as part of paper piecing projects)
• Aud Sentiments Challenge: Any sentiment for a girl
• Card Mania: Use a Sentiment
• Crafts 4 Eternity Recipe Challenge #165: Texture
• Crafty Catz #220: Anything Goes
• The East Wind #2: Use a Digi

Thank you for visiting, and hope you'll join us this week at One Stitch at a Time,