Teacher Appreciation Apple Box

I know. I'm a little early for teacher appreciation gifts but ...I made this box for a tutorial that I put together over for my Dollar Find Friday post over at the TSG Blog but didn't a chance to post it here. So here it is in all of it's appley goodness :)

I water coloured the school house with my Tombow Markers and then placed it on a sponged background for the main panel. The school house and sentiments are from one of the There She Goes newer releases called Believe in You. The box is something that Angela and I found at our Dollarama, along with the foam brushes and acrylic paint for the wooden box.

I thought that this box would look really sweet filled with teacher supplies like pencils, rubber bands, paper clips, erasers or some really yummy goodies like chocolate or candies. When I give this to one of the sweet ladies who teaches my children, I'm going to wrap it up in clear cellophane and attach a big lime green bow :D

Just a reminder that this is the very last chance to register for my online Water Colouring with Tombow Markers Class. The registration closes at the end of the day on October 1st and this class will not be offered again this fall.

Click here for more details on this class.

Box Recipe:

Stamps: There She Goes - Believe in You
Paper: Water Colour, Black, October Afternoon DP
Ink: Versafine Onyx Black, Ranger Distress Antique Linen, Chocolate, Olive, Artichoke, Baja
Accessories: Box from Dollarama, Sewing Machine, Button, Grosgrain Ribbon, Linen Thread, Sponges, Corner Rounder, Tombow Markers, Water brush, Acrylic Paint, Sand Paper, Emery Board, Foam Brush, Tacky Glue, Cloud Stencil

The Man Card

If this isn't a man card then I don't know what is :) Notice that I didn't say "masculine" card? The reason is simple..."masculine" somewhat implies some refined and rugged qualities with a little musk on the side. A "man" card represents the other half of the spectrum...lover of all sports, couch potato like, the need to be the king of all things electronic with a little Au de Beer Toilette on the side ;) I guess that you can say that my man *might* be considered the type to receive a card such as this, after all...he was the one that came up with the idea for this set ;)

I made this card with one of my newer illustrations called The Measure of a Man from Clear Dollar Stamps and got a chance to participate in this weeks SC300 challenge over at Splitcoaststampers. Since it's the 300th birthday of the Sketch Challenge, they are having a little par-tay. You should swing on by and check it out :D

I water coloured the remote with my Tombow Markers and then simply cut it out and keeping some white trim around it so that it would really stand out against the dark grey designer paper. I grabbed a bunch of scraps from my bin to put together the papers and kept my fingers crossed that they would match my already coloured image. Tsk, tsk...I know ;)

Pssssssst! Did you hear? Lori has some exciting new things to show you on her blog today that she has been working really hard on. I won't spoil the news, so your just going to have to hop right on over and take a peek for yourself at the Clearly iStamp blog :D

Thanks for coming by today!

Card Recipe:
Stamps: Clear Dollar Stamps - The Measure of a Man
Paper: Gina K, Water Colour, Black, Basic Grey DP, October Afternoon DP
Ink: Versafine Onyx Black, Ranger Distress Antique Linen, Chocolate
Accessories: Sewing Machine, Cuttlebug and Embossing Folders, Tombow Markers, Water Brush, Clear Embossing Powder, Ribbon

Filled with Cheer at Christmas

Welcome back to day 2 of the Clear Dollar Stamps sneak peeks. Today I have my newest illustration to show called Filled with Cheer and it has endless possibilities for all of those Christmas cards that need to be made! To see a peek at the entire set, please visit the Clearly iStamp Blog.

I have 2 cards to show you today and the first one up is a clean and simple card using non traditional colours :) If you have been reading my blog lately, you know that I have been trying my hand at clean and simple cards (I do mean trying, but not always succeeding! lol) This card is truly clean and simple for me. There is no sponging, paper tole, extra baubles of any sort and the layout is simple. I have to say that I adore this card! It turned out exactly like I had hoped and it didn't leave me with the feeling that I left something out or the need to pull my hand away from the embellishments just to fill up some space ;)

This is the first image that I tried my Derwent Inktense pencils and water brush on and I think that it turned out pretty well. I currently only own a set of 12 so this was and experiment on mixing the colours together to get the shades that I wanted and this would be why my colours ended up non traditional ;) I still have to work at my mixology! lol

Card Recipe:

Stamps: Clear Dollar Stamps - Filled with Cheer
Paper: Gina K, Water Colour, Chocolate, My Mind's Eye DP, Cosmo Cricket DP
Ink: Versafine Onyx Black
Accessories: Sewing Machine, Ribbon, Derwent Inktense Pencils, Water Brush, Stickles, Clear Embossing Powder

The second card is paper toled and paper pieced with some coordinating card stock. For this card I used my beloved Tombow Markers and a water brush to colour most of the image and then used some sponging to add some shading to that paper piecing. I used the candy filling to stuff this stocking but there is also the option of using a sleeping mouse, presents and toy fillers too :) This set is very versatile!

Don't forget to visit all the DT blogs today as there are lots of fun sets being previewed. Thanks for coming by today and this set will be available on October 1st.

Angela Thomas
Tricia Traxler
Katlyn Traxler
Cassie Trask
Linda Anderson
Laurie Wilson
Lori McCrosky
Nancy Grant
Katie Renz
Candy Fosta
Sarah Taylor
Trudy Sjolander
Stacy Morgan
Lisa Lara
Gloria Dojlido
Vicki Conquest

Summer Clearly Creative Crew:

Christi Bryant

Michelle Sampson

Barb Gmitro Best

Card Recipe:

Stamps: Clear Dollar Stamps - Filled with Cheer
Paper: Gina K, Black, Water Colour, My Mind's Eye DP, Basic Grey DP
Inks: Versafine Onyx Black, Caramel, Chocolate, Mustard
Accessories: Sewing Machine, Cuttlebug and Embossing Folders, Oval Nestabilities, Ribbon, Button, Linen Thread, Sponges, Pop Dots, Clear Embossing Powder, Tombow Markers and Water Brush, Corner Rounder

Whooo's that Vamp on the box?

Welcome back to the last day of the There She Goes blog hop! Today I have 2 new sets that I'm so excited to introduce you to and I know that you will be thrilled to see them ;) If you have hopped to my blog from Julie's blog then you are in the right place, if not then please start your journey from the TSG blog.

The first set up on the blog to show you is called You're a Hoot (by Torico) and it is a 4x6 stamp set that includes a total of 26 stamps and will sell for $15! I paired one of the large owls up with his branch and then added some leaves cut from a Martha Stewart paper punch. I water coloured the image with some Derwent Inktese pencils and a water brush and then added some coordinating sponging along the edges.

Did you notice my altered Spellbinders' labels die? Yeah, well...I was feeling a bit crazy and got busy with my craft knife and this is how it turned out! lol I don't know...I think it works :) In the spirit of being crazy I also added some more texture to the card with some felt clouds, googly eyes and ribbon leaves.

Card Recipe: 

Stamps: There She Goes - You're a Hoot
Paper: Gina K, Chocolate, Water Colour, Bella Blvd DP
Ink: Navy, Olive, Chocolate
Accessories: Sewing Machine, Cuttlebug and Embossing Folders, Spellbinders Labels Dies, MFT Cloud Dies, Derwent Inktese Pencils, Water Brush, Pop Dots, Sponges, Googly Eyes, Grosgrain Ribbon, Leaf Ribbon, Felt, Tombow Multi Glue, Corner Rounder, Scallop Edge Punch, MS Leaf Punch, Button, Linen Thread

And the next set to introduce you to is called Hauntingly Delightful (by Torico) and is a 6x8 stamp set that includes a total of 36 stamps and will sell for $24.

I decided to use this template that I found on Martha Stewart's website to create a coffin shaped treat box for Halloween. I thought that it was only fitting that Dracula had a home :D To do this I dragged various inks all over some Mustard card stock for a wood grain look, followed the template to put it together and then added some sponging to the seams to make it look a little on the "old" side. It's very easy and not very time consuming which is great if you need to make more than 1 :)

Would you like a chance to win both of these stamp sets? Here’s what you need to do- go to each of the Trendsetter’s Blogs and leave a comment on their You’re A Hoot / Hauntingly Delightful Blog Hop Challenge post. After you have finished checking out the eye candy and have left some love, return to the TSG Blog and add your name to the Mr. Linky at the bottom of this Blog Hop Challenge post. A winner will be chosen randomly using a random number generator to receive their very own You’re A Hoot / Hauntingly Delightful stamp sets. The winner will be announced Saturday (Sept. 25th) during the Release Party Chat.

Thanks for coming by today and now you are off to the fabulous Natalie Dever's blog!


Box Recipe:

Stamps: There She Goes - Hauntingly Delightful
Paper: Mustard, Black, Water Colour, My Mind's Eye DP
Ink: Caramel, Cocoa, Chocolate, Suede, Olive
Accessories: Sewing Machine, Cuttlebug and Embossing Folders, Spellbinders Oval Dies, Ribbon, Pop Dots, Derwent Inktese Pencils, Water Brush, Sponges, Tombow Multi Glue

Apples for Autumn

Woo Hoo for day 2 of the There She Goes sneak peeks and blog hop! If you have arrived here from Julie's blog then you are in the right place, if not then please start at the TSG Blog.

Did you enjoy a little Cattitude yesterday? Well today I'm back with one of Chris Dark's newest sets called Autumn Mosaic. This wonderful fall themed stamp set includes many different images and is a 4x8 stamp set that includes a total of 21 stamps that will sell for $18. Isn't that a steal? I think so!

Would you like a chance to win the Autumn Mosaic stamp set? Here’s what you need to do- go to each of the Trendsetter’s Blogs and leave a comment on their Autumn Mosaic Blog Hop Challenge post. After you have finished checking out the eye candy and have left some love, return to the TSG Blog and add your name to the Mr. Linky at the bottom of this Blog Hop Challenge post. A winner will be chosen randomly using a random number generator to receive their very own Autumn Mosaic stamp set. The winner will be announced Saturday (Sept. 25th) during the Release Party Chat in the TSG Forums :)

Here I used the apples from the set and put to used my Derwent Inktese pencils and a water brush to good use. For this months release we were asked to use digital images in case our stamps didn't reach us in time for the release so I set my Tombow Markers aside for now and was playing with a whole other medium. I'm kinda lousy at digital's but I was able to make it workable with the pencils because I was trying to to blend/erase out my printer lines. With the pencils I'm able to add the colour and blend it together before I add the water so it's a little easier to work with images from my printer this way.

For those of you who are new to water colouring with digital images, through trial and error I have realized these things: use very little water on your brush, heat set the image when it comes out of the printer, don't blend and re-blend your images a million times and stay away from the lines as much as possible. ;)

I sponged some light brown inks on all the layers of papers and embossed them to add to the rustic feel of fall. I added some linen thread to my buttons and kept the card relatively simple and kind of country-ish with the same thread colour used all over. I have no idea why, but this look reminds me of burlap - maybe I haven't had enough coffee for the day yet to see things clearly? I don't know ;)
 
In keeping with the theme of this card and to celebrate the beginning of Fall, There She Goes is having a Changing Of The Seasons sale! From today (September 22) through Wednesday (September 29th) five select stamp sets are 15% off their regular price!

 

This season’s sale sets are:

 

Home Sweet Home $20.40 (reg. $24)
Spooktacular Silhouettes $20.40 (reg. $24)
HSH Halloween Additions $15.30 (reg. $18)
HSH Holiday Additions $20.40 (reg. $24)
Holiday Tags $20.40 (reg. $24)

 

Thanks for coming by today and now you are off to the fabulous Natalie Dever's blog!

Card Recipe:

Stamps: There She Goes - Autumn Mosaic
Paper: Gina K, Water Colour, Chocolate, Upsy Daisy DP, My Mind's Eye DP
Ink: Ranger Distress Antique Linen, Caramel
Accessories: Sewing Machine, Cuttlebug and Embossing Folders, Spellbinder Dies, Derwent Inktense Pencils, Water Brush, Buttons, Grosgrain Ribbon, Linen Thread, Corner Chomper

Cattitude

It's sneak peek time again over at There She Goes and this week we not only have new sets to show you, but some new additions to the design team to show them off :D Today I get to show you a sassy new cat set, appropriately called Cattitude! If you have arrived here from Julie's blog then you are right where you should be, if not then please start back at the TSG blog.

For this month's releases I took my new Derwent Inktense pencils for a test drive and I love these things! They allow me to work with digital images without bleeding all over the paper and still have the intense colour of my Tombows. The only issue that I have with them is that I'm still getting used to a different colouring medium so don't look too closely at my colouring, 'Kay? :)

As you know the image was water coloured and I added some soft sponging to really bring out the brightness of the blue surrounding the image. I added a hand made ribbon flower and some sponged Martha Stewart leaf punchies. I kept the card relatively simple because I wanted them image to speak for it self...and I'm working at my clean and simple cards...of which this one failed miserably at that concept ;)

Don't forget that when TSG does sneak peek blog hops that you can win these brand new sets. All you have to do is leave a comment at all the participating Trendsetters blogs and then add your name to the Mr. Linky back at the TSG blog and you will be entered to win!

Thanks for coming by today and you are now off to visit one of the newest Trendsetters Natalie Dever. Have fun!


Card Recipe:

Stamps: There She Goes - Cattitude
Paper: Gina K, Chocolate Water Colour, K&Co DP, My Mind's Eye DP, 3Bugs DP
Ink: Caramel, Ranger Distress Antique Linene
Accessories: Sewing Machine, Cuttlebug and Embossing Folders, Spellbinders Oval and Scallop Oval Dies, Ribbon, Button, Linen Thread, Corner Rounder, MS Leaf Punch, Sponges, Pop Dots, Derwent Inktense Pencils, Water Brush

Dance like no one is watching...

Today I'm posting a card that I created for the Wednesday Trends that features adding texture to a card with a mini tutorial on how to do it for the TSG Blog. If you would like to see the mini tutorial, please click here.

The flowers have been quickly stamped, embossed, water coloured and popped up so that they really stand out :) I pulled some of the pretty colours from the Green at Heart Designer papers and tried to match them as close as possible so that the card flowed together nicely. All of the card stock and papers have been sponged with coordinating inks and the designer papers have been embossed for a subtle texture.

Thanks for coming by today and be sure to pop back in on Friday to see another goody that I have been working on :D

Card Recipe:

Stamps: There She Goes - Dance
Paper: Gina K, Chocolate, Water Colour, Basic Grey Green at Heart designer papers
Ink: Versafine Onyx Black, Chocolate, Ranger Distress Antique Linen
Accessories: Sewing Machine, Cuttlebug and Embossing Folders, Spellbinders Oval Dies, Sponges, Pop Dots, Clear Embossing Powder, Tombow Dual Brush Pens, Water Brush, Gemstone Brads, Martha Stewart Leaf Punch, Dingle Ball Ribbon (technical term - lol), Corner Rounder

TSG72 With Sweet Peas

Today, over at the There She Goes blog is the weekly challenge and it's a sketch hosted by yours truly :D This week it's a sketch challenge with a twist to celebrate the There She Goes Birthday! To read up on all the details please click here.

I water coloured the sweet pea blossoms with my tombow markers and then took a green prisma pencil and drew a line that followed the stems to add some colour. I popped up the three biggest blossoms and to make the flowers look larger with more petals, I angled the popped up pieces a little so that they were not placed directly on the original image. This is a great little trick to adding more dimension to a floral image :D

Thanks for coming by to take a peek at my card and don't forget to participate in the challenge!You can win a $5 gift certificate to the TSG store :) To be eligible for the giveaway, all you need to do is create a card using this sketch challenge, then go to the TSG Blog to add your name and a link to your project in the InLinkz that is located at the bottom of this challenge post. This challenge is open until the winner has been announced on the following Monday (September 20th). The winner will get a $5 gift certificate to use in the TSG Web store!

Card Recipe:

Stamps: There She Goes - Sweet Peas
Paper: Gina K, Chocolate, Water Colour, Cosmo Cricket DP
Ink: Versafine Onyx Black, Caramel, Chocolate
Accessories: Sewing Machine, Cuttlebug and Embossing Folders, Nestabilities, Word Window Punch, Clear Embossing Powder, Tombow Markers, Water Brush, Prisma Pencils, Sponges, Ribbon, Button, Dimensionals, Linen Thread, Corner Rounder

FS188 - Vintage TV

I just realized tonight that I have neglected my blog in order to work ahead at some of the things that I will be showing here next week...so I put everything down and started this card :) I got a chance to participate in the SCS Featured Stamper Challenge FS188 and Die Cut Diva was being featured this week. This is the card that I chose as my inspiration.

By the Featured Stamper rules, I had to change three things to the card that I was CASE'ing, so I added some sewing, designer papers and brads instead of eyelets. I also switched up the image to the retro television from my latest release over at CDStamps called The Measure of a Man.

The TV was actually water coloured with re-inkers for a change and I didn't do any tole work. I wanted to keep with the clean look in the spirit of so many of Terri's cards. I added some pewter brads as the knobs on the TV and left a white outline of water colour paper so that my TV would stand out from the rest of the dark colours on the card.

Thanks for coming by and be sure to pop in on Monday to see some of the things that I have been working on :)

Card Recipe:

Stamps: Clear Dollar Stamps - The Measure of a Man
Paper: Kraft, Chocolate, Water Colour, Cosmo Cricket Dp, Basic Grey Dp
Ink: Versafine Onyx Black, Chocolate, Caramel, Baja, Sky, Sand, Grey
Accessories: Sewing Machine, Cuttlebug and Embossing Folders, WW Punch, Brads, Sponges, Pop Dots, Clear Embossing Powder

Seaside Birthday

Happy September everyone! For most of you September represents new beginnings with back to school and around my blog, it also represents new beginnings. How do you all like the new digs? I have been wanting to re-model my blog for quite some time and as a birthday present to myself I put some time aside and sat down to create my banner, signature, favicon, the buttons and moved things around a little. My blog still isn't as perfect as I want it to be but it will be a work in progress as I learn about blogger HTML codes ;)

September is a crazy time of the year for us with 3 of my family's birthdays (myself, Ashlynn and Bill's), back to school with the first time my kids will be out of the house all day, and some extra duties that I have taken on with DT's and illustrating so I thought that I would work ahead on a few things and get my blog finished up as quick as possible.

Speaking of DT's, I am happy to announce that I get to stick around There She Goes as a Sr. Trendsetter! Yippee :D In honor of the occasion, I thought that I would make my husband's birthday card with a TSG set called "By the Sea". Bill is a deckhand on BC Ferries so this card is perfect for him :D

I decided to go with a fairly clean card so that the coastal image really popped. This is a fairly new thing to me....leaving "white" space that is and I'm pretty happy with how it turned out especially since it didn't take very long to make ;) The images has been sponged and water coloured with both re-inkers and tombow markers.  

Thanks for coming by today!

Card Recipe: There She Goes - By the Sea, Sweet Pea (sentiment)

Paper: Gina K, Black, Water Colour

Ink: Versafine Onyx Black, Baja, Navy, Pacific Point, Caramel, Cocoa, Suede, Chocolate

Accessories: Sponges, Tombows, Water Brush, Pop Dots, Piercing Tool, Clear Embossing Powder, Cloud Template, Stamp-a-ma-jig, Sewing Machine

Pardon the mess....

...but we are under construction! Please ignore the goings on of this blog while you are viewing...especially if things are being moved around before your eyes! lol

I am in the process of re-vamping my blog and it may take me a day or two to get it all sorted out but hopefully it will be worth the wait :D

Thanks for your patience!