NEW 'goodies' to play with . . .

Happy Friday Everyone!

First I'd like to give a BIRTHDAY SHOUT OUT to my granddaughter MORGAN
who is 20 today!

Happy Birthday Sweetie!

We are SO PROUD of you!!

I'm going to be very busy today helping Morgan get things set up for  the 'Deaf Social' she is hosting at Kent State University in East Liverpool, Ohio.  Morgan is the President of the American Sign Language Committee for Kent State and has been working VERY HARD putting this Deaf Social together.  Of course her Mom and I want to help her where ever we can ... so no card making today!

But I do have a couple of cards to share with you that I made after returning from my trip to Indiana where I attended the Spring Workshop at Joan's Gardens.  Not only did I have a GREAT TIME linking up with the ladies and creating some awesome projects ... but also had fun SHOPPING!!  Here are a couple of cards utilizing a few of my new products.

 This first card was created using a LaBlanche stamp (LB1219) for the background and the focus panel.  First I stamped the image using Versamark onto white cardstock, embossed with Stampendous white embossing powder, heat set ... then sponged Colorbox 'Berrylicious' chalk ink over it.  On my white card front, I simply inked the same image with Versafine black ink and randomly stamped.

 

For my second card, I used a Memory Box 'Dogwood Branch' wooden stamp (F1847) to create this paper pieced CAS creation.  The image was stamped twice.  Once on a a scrap piece of white cardstock ... then again on the piece of white cardstock which I sponged using SU Pink Pirouette, Colorbox  Rose Coral and Colorbox Berrylicious.  After coloring in the image on my scrap paper, I used my Fiskars swivel craft knife and cut out the leaves and flower.  The leaves were glued down flat but the Dogwood Blossom was popped up with pop dots.  Coloring on the dogwood blossom was done with chalks and green Stickles in the center.

I hope you enjoyed today's creations and have a wonderful day/weekend!

Now I'd better get moving!

Hugs,

Darlene

OH ... and for any of you who do Facebook ... HERE IS MORGAN'S PAGE if you'd like to stop by and wish her a Happy Birthday!  Thanks in advance for helping to make her day special!!

Joan's Gardens Challenge #12

Holy Moly ... another week is nearly gone 

AND the 1st quarter of 2012 is nearly over too!  

YIKES ... Time is certainly 'MARCHING ON'!

I missed last week's Joan's Gardens challenge due to actually BEING at Joan's Gardens preparing for the fun workshop weekend but I'm back again for today's AWESOME challenge.  This week, we are making a Post It Note Cover and here are the additional requirements:

•  Cover a Post A note
• Use some kind of  Die Cut for a background
• Purple is this week's color
• Use a butterfly or something from nature

Since I just learned over the weekend at Joan's how to make ROSES using the PunchBunch Begonia punch, that is what I chose to use on the top of my Post-It Note cover today.  I've also used a few other 'goodies' I purchased at Joan's Gardens.  

(See List Below)

I have used three colors on my cover & flower ... deep purple, orchid and pink.  On the 'pink' backing panel, I have inked the edges with TH 'Dusty Concord' distress ink and run it through the Cuttlebug using the 'Textile' embossing folder.  Diamond Dust was used on the flower petals and Deco Art Glamour Dust was used on the butterfly.

Here is the list I promised you:

Papers:  Deep Purple, Orchid, White and Pink cardstock

Accessories:  PunchBunch Begonia punch, Marianne LR0156 leaf die, Cheery Lynn Designs DL112 Exotic Butterfly small die, Cheery Lynn Designs B151 Cuties 3 Border/Flower die, Martha Stewart Branch punch, Deco Art Glamour Dust, Twinklets Diamond Dust, McGill Flower Making Kit, McGill Flower Making mat, Tim Holtz Dusty Concord distress ink, Cuttlebug Textile embossing folder

Items in RED were purchased through Joan's Gardens.

If you've never been to Joan's site ... NOW'S THE TIME!  She's got some fabulous sales going on and a lot of new products in stock too!  Pop on over ... check it out ... and play the challenge!  You'll have so much fun!  THANKS so much to Joan & Selma for always CHALLENGING us week to week!

Fabulous ideas and inspiration!

Other Qualifying Challenges:

Rainbow Lady's Challenge - Butterflies

Samuel Taylors Crafts - Butterflies

Creative Belli Blog - Use three shapes (butterfly, flower petals, leaves)

The prize this month at Samuel Taylors Crafts is:

* A Marianne Design Butterfly Die.

* Anita's Flitter Fairy Wing Butterflies

* Kaisercraft Wire Flutterby and,

* Some summery orange/yellow buttons.

  

Happy Day Everyone!!
Time for me to quit PLAYING and get some WORK done!  

Hugs

Darlene

Shelly's Images Challenge

It's time for another challenge at Shelly's Images!

Today's challenge theme is:

SHOW US YOUR STRIPES

(incorporate Stripes into your card/project)

Our FEATURED IMAGE for you today is EASTER CHICK

EASTER CHICK

This poor little guy looks like some of that pretty Easter Egg Coloring has soaked into his feathers!  Yikes!  Do you remember when you used to buy COLORED peeps/chicks for your kids for Easter?  YES ... LIVE CHICKS that had been 'dyed' Easter colors.  I don't think you're allowed to do that anymore ... haven't seen them in YEARS!!

WHOA!  I was having so much fun coloring, cutting and creating with this cute chick that I nearly forgot about the THEME of today's challenge!  Ooops!  So, I quickly added a piece of 'STRIPED' ribbon on my card ... hey, at least I DID remember!  LOL!!

First I used pastel pencils to color my image ... then I went over the 'decorated' parts with Martha Stewart Glitter Markers.  My Happy Easter dp is from DCWV and the Easter Egg paper is from Paper Pizazz.  I've used a Fiskars swivel craft knife to cut out my EASTER CHICK image then popped them up with Pop Dots.  A coat of SU Crystal Effects covers the Egg portion of this digi and just the decorated portion on the chick (see below).

Sorry ... the one decorated area looks to be BLACK ... it is NOT ... it is actually PURPLE and looks really great IRL ... somehow the camera doesn't always give me the purple colors I desire!

I hope you'll come join in our fun at Shelly's Images and remember, you can get today's FEATURED IMAGE at a REDUCED PRICE ... TODAY ONLY!!  

See you at Shelly's!!

Hugs,

Darlene

New Challenge at . . .

The Sisterhood of Crafters!

Today we are celebrating 

EASTER

 Easter is right around the corner and hopefully you'll come join in our challenge fun and get those last minute Easter cards ready and in the mail at the same time!  I was running behind a bit this week with being out of town for 5 days attending the workshop at Joan's Gardens but FINALLY got something created last night.

I purchased a couple new stamp sets from a SU party my friend Sandy had recently and one of those sets is the 'Heaven Blessed' set.  And that is what I've used for the image inside my card today.

Recipe:
Papers:  white cs, lilac cs
Stamps:  SU 'Heaven Blessed', Paper Inspirations
Accessories:  Prismacolor markers, chalk, makeup applicators, Cuttlebug Swiss Dot EF, Spellbinder 'Fleur De Lis Squares' die, Michaels pink grosgrain ribbon, Bow Easy

 You say you need more inspiration?  Then by all means, check out the creations by my 'Sistahs' over on our challenge blog.  Please be sure to pop over, check it out ... and come play along!  I can't wait to see YOUR Easter creations.  

Other Challenges:
Anything Goes Challenge - Get Ready for Easter
Crafty Sentiments Designs - Easter
Going Grey with Scrap-Creations - Easter
Paper and Such Design - Spring or Easter
Party Time Tuesday - Anything Goes
Tip Top Tuesday - Easter and/or animal (chicks)
Try it on Tuesday - Easter
The Cheerful Stamp Pad - Anything Goes
Crafty Boots Challenge - Easter
Lexi's Creations Challenge - Easter
Lollipop Crafts - Anything Goes

So there you have it for today!  I'd better get busy!  I have 11 more ticket boxes to make for my granddaughter, Morgan's 'Deaf Social' at Kent State on Friday ... as well as another 20 thank you cards.  Yikes ... I'd better get crackin'!  Have a wonderful day!  

Don't forget to stop back tomorrow for a new SHELLY'S IMAGES challenge.  Hope to see you then!

Hugs,

Darlene

Joan's Gardens SPRING WORKSHOP

Happy Monday Everyone!!

WOW ... what a fabulous FIVE DAYS I had out at the Spring Workshop at

Joan's Gardens in North Liberty, Indiana.  

Joan is such a WONDERFUL hostess and I always enjoy visiting with her and her sweet husband, Jon.  I've gotten into the habit of going out a few days early to help Joan get ready for her upcoming workshop how ever I can and 'reorganizing' the Shoppe has become my favorite thing to do!  It's a lot of work ... but so rewarding at the same time ... I get to see ALL the goodies she has for sale before everyone shows up for the workshop!  LOL!!  And it's always great fun to see the new friends I've made through Joan's workshops again!

FRIDAY'S Workshop Ladies

 

SATURDAY'S Workshop Ladies

 On Saturday, I was thrilled to finally link up with Shelly Schmidt (My Creative Ramblings) whom I had meet (online) through CDAC and when I learned she lived only a couple hours away from Joan ... in Weaton, Illinois, I invited her to Joan's Workshop so we could actually meet in real life!  I was SO EXCITED when she told me she was coming! 

WOW!  What a fun, fabulous time!  I was so happy to meet Shelly and glad that her friend Debbie (hiding in the back between us...LOL) was able to come along too!  The more the merrier!!

Now I suppose you would like to see the projects we made!  

A tutorial on creating the rose we used on our first project can be found on Selma's blog HERE.  Joan & Selma work together to come up with the project ideas for the workshops and Joan makes all the samples.  With each workshop, I learn more and more about paper crafting!  THANKS LADIES!!

Isn't this box beautiful?!?  

This is a photo of Selma's SAMPLE ...

and here is MINE ...

 Not bad!  I need to practice more on making these roses (using the PunchBunch Begonia Punch) ,,, but I think it turned out pretty good for my 1st attempt!  Needless to say, I bought was was need to recreate more of these beauties!!

NOW ... project #2 was VERY detailed and GORGEOUS!  

To create the card you used several different Marianne dies (can see the instructions and list of items used for this project on Selma's blog post HERE).  AND ... the beautiful, sparkly flower is a technique called "Glitter Peel by Elizabeth Craft" which was taught by Margaret Van Duyn from Illinois.  Isn't it gorgeous!!??!!

Here is Selma's SAMPLE ...

and here is MINE ...

 Here is a better look at the flower using the 'Glitter Peel' technique . . .

What a blessing to be able to attend these workshops and meet so many wonderful ladies.  There is SO MUCH inspiration being shared and the friendships I have made are PRICELESS!!!

Now I really MUST get back to NORMAL around here (what a mess I left my 'cave' in ...) and get caught up on the daily chores too!  Thanks for stopping by and sharing this exciting time with me!  And a huge thanks to Joan and Selma for all their hard work!  You ladies are the BEST!!

Hugs,

Darlene

Shelly's Images Challenge

Time for another fun challenge at Shelly's Images!

This week we are featuring another Shelly's digi that would be PERFECT for the upcoming Easter holiday.  It's called "1 Bunny Trail Lane" and you can purchase it TODAY ONLY at a REDUCED PRICE.

1 Bunny Trail Lane

And, our challenge theme is:

USE EMBOSSING (wet or dry)

AND

COLORS:  Kraft, Pink & Orange

I was afraid this was going to be a real challenge for me since these are colors I RARELY use together ... but I have to admit ... I had great fun coloring this image and putting  a card together!  I can't wait to see what YOU come up with!!  Here's mine . . .

Recipe for this card:

Papers:  Kraft (base card), Orange, Pink cardstock
Accessories:  Spellbinder Nestled Eggs die, Prismacolor Markers, Michaels satin ribbon, Craft Concepts 'Secret Garden' embossing folder, SU Pink Pirouette ink, sponge dauber

Please be sure to pop on over to SHELLY'S IMAGES and check out the amazing creations by my team mates.  You will certainly be inspired to join in the fun!!  OH and I nearly forgot to mention ... THERE'S 'HUGE' EXCITING NEWS coming up from SHELLY'S IMAGES ... be sure to keep an eye out for that!! 

Have a wonderful day!

Hugs,

Darlene

EXCITING NEWS . . .

Hi Everyone!

Well, I'm 'packing up' and getting ready to head out early tomorrow morning for the Spring Workshop at Joan's Gardens in South Bend, Indiana.  It's an EASY 5 hour drive and I can't wait to get there and see Joan and the other gals again!  But before I go ... I wanted to share this EXCITING NEWS over at SHELLY'S IMAGES ...

Shelly's Images has a brand new store and website! The website address will remain the same so not to worry.  Your Shelly's Images.com bookmarks will continue to work. We have been hard at work for the last 4 weeks to get the new site and store ready for all of our friends.  

There are lots of great new features that come with our store.  We hope you will drop in and take a look around.  If you haven't signed up for our newsletter be sure to do that.  And be sure to click on the Store tab and then register for your Shelly's Images account.  There are so many great benefits to registering! Oh...and you still have time to enter for our March Digi Stamp Giveaway.  Enter once each month for your chance to win. 

We would love to hear what you think of our new home.  And to celebrate we are offering a 30% off coupon from now until April 15th.  This offer can not be combined with other sales or vouchers.  

 

Please be sure to pop over to check out Shelly's new store and take advantage of the special deals she's offering!  And don't forget to check out the new tutorial shared on the BLOG today and come back on Thursday for a new, fun challenge!

OKAY ... off I go ... so much to do!!

Hugs,

Darlene

It's MONDAY again ... already!!!

Hi Everyone and Happy Monday to you!

WOW!  What a BEAUTIFUL weekend ... temps were fabulous!

First let me tell you that the 'Card Party'  this past Saturday was a huge success!!  The ladies loved my card creations and were very generous with their purchases!  AND ... I came home to a true Irish dinner cooked by my 'Irish' husband, Mark.  Included home made soda biscuits ... Yummo!  What a wonderful, fun St. Patrick's Day though it did have it's twist of emotions!  My father passed away 23 years ago on St. Patty's Day and this was our 1st St. Patty's Day without Mark's mom ... Claire (McDermott-Gallagher) Pavlick.  God rest their souls.

I thought I'd share with you the Easter Hershey Bar Pouches I made to show the ladies at the card party on Saturday.  I'm happy to say that they ALL sold.  And, I probably could have sold more ... they were a big hit!  Guess I'd better get busy making a few more!  LOL

 

The 'pouch' is very easy to make ... here's a quick overview of the instructions.

Base Pouch:  Cut paper 7 1/2" x 6 1/2"

Score (on the 6 1/2 length) at 3" and 6"

which leaves a 1/2" panel for adhering

You will need a hole at the top to run your ribbon through.

And you'll also want to adhere the bottom so candy doesn't slip out.

The ribbon is cut at 30"

Decorate to your liking!

NOW ... I have to get ready for my trip to Indiana on Wednesday to attend the Spring Workshop at Joan's Gardens.  I'm so looking forward to seeing Joan and the other ladies again and to see all the new products Joan will have available in her shoppe.  Hope you have a wonderful day!  

Hugs,

Darlene

Sympathy cards ...

Hi Everyone!

I've been telling you  about my upcoming 'Card Party' (today) and have been sharing creations with you that have been inspired by Heather Telford (Bits & Pieces).  Well today, I have a couple of cards that were inspired by another lady.  Her name is Nadine and her blog is Wahine Inks.  I also found Nadine through Ann S. Taft, whom I follow over on Pinterest.  You can click on Nadine's blog link to see her creation that I have cased.

The floral stamp used on both creations is by PENNY BLACK (Allegro - "T for Transparent") and the Cuttlebug embossing folder I used is 'textile'.  The butterflies on the white card is a Martha Stewart punch and after punching, I ran them through the Cuttlebug using the same textile folder.  SU markers were used directly on the stamp before stamping on the above (white) card.  VersaMagic 'cloud white' chalk ink was used on the black card creation below.  Though difficult to see, green 'chalk' was used over the chalk INK on the stems.

These two cards were very quick & easy and without using layers (as I normally do) ... the ladies at the card party won't have to worry about additional postage when mailings.

Well ... I've been a CRAFTING FOOL lately so I'll go EASY on you today!  LOL!  I think I'm ready for my 'Card Party' today.  Wish me luck ... hopefully the ladies will be in a 'buying mood'!  LOL!

Have a wonderful weekend and HAPPY ST. PATRICK'S DAY to you!!
Hugs,
Darlene

Another EASTER card and SKYPE cooking with Shelly . . .

Well here we are in the middle of March already and Easter is just around the corner.  The ladies I will be seeing tomorrow at the 'Card Party' requested Easter cards so here's an Easter card I created with the challenge over at The Perfect Sentiment in mind.  

They asked you use an Easter Sentiment on the front of your card and the Twist is to use at least THREE of the colors in this inspirational photo.


Shelly's Images is sponsoring the challenge so I chose her 'Easter Bunny' digi image which is also being FEATURED on the Shelly's Images challenge this week.  And the theme at the SI blog is "Anything Goes."

Recipe:
Papers:  Hot Pink cs, White cs, scraps of cs for eggs, Hot Off The Press dp
Stamps:  Shelly's Images digi, Hero Arts sentiment
Accessories:  Prismacolor markers, Chalks, makeup applicator,Spellbinder 'nestled eggs' die, various Stickels,MS border punch

* * * * *

If you are a follower of my blog, then you will know that Shelly Parker (Shelly's Images) and I have started a new adventure and that is SKYPE COOKING.  Which simply means ... we have our laptops in our kitchens and Video Skype while we are cooking THE SAME dinner for our families.  (GREAT fun ... you should try it!)

Tonight we are doing CHICKEN ROLL-UPS.

I shared this recipe with you back in January ... but put a little TWIST on it this time.

This meal is so QUICK & EASY and is really one of hubby's FAVORITES! 

Chicken Roll Ups

2 boneless, skinless chicken breasts

Mozzarella Cheese (sticks or shredded)

Chopped Red Pepper and/or Mushrooms (the TWIST)

Red Pepper Flakes

Zesty Italian Dressing

Italian Bread Crumbs

2 paper plates

2 sheets of waxed paper

meat pounding mallet

Cut your chicken breast in half 'longwise' to make 2 'thinner' pieces from each breast.

Between waxed paper, pound the chicken breasts with a mallet to make thinner.

Sprinkle chicken 'lightly' with pepper flakes, place cheese at one end and roll up.

Dredge first in Italian Dressing ... then in breadcrumbs

Place on foiled baking sheet - sprayed with Pam

Bake in 350 degree oven for 20-30 minutes.

 After taking this photo, I decided to turn the cheese the other direction to make rolling easier.  Worked much better that way!

After rolling and dredging through Italian Dressing and Breadcrumbs, I placed a small piece of Mozzarella cheese on the top of each roll-up and added mushrooms to the top of the pieces that had chopped mushrooms inside.

Since I do NOT 'pin' them closed with toothpicks, some of the internal cheese 'ooozes' out and that is what you see on the pan.  NO PROBLEM ... I simply add the melted cheese back on the plate next to the chicken ... yummy good (if you're a cheese lover like we are).

I have made this dish for dinner many times and hope Shelly's family enjoyed it as much as Mark & I do.  You can see what Shelly had to say about my dinner choice on her personal blog ... A Work of Heart.  I will be out of town next week ... so NO Skype Cooking with Shelly until hopefully the following week.  And, it will be Shelly's turn to PICK THE ENTREE!  What fun!!

 

Have a wonderful day!

Hugs,

Darlene 

Joan's Gardens Challenge #10 and more . . .

WOW ... time is FLYING!  

Another week has past and it's time once again for a fun challenge at Joan's Gardens.  Just think ... this time next week, I WILL BE AT JOAN'S GARDENS!  We'll be busy setting up for the weekend workshop so probably won't get to play next week's challenge but I'll be having so much other fun, I probably won't miss it too much!!  LOL!  

Anyways ... this week's challenge requirements are:

• Create an Easter Card with a bunny
• Use an embossed background
• Colors appropriate for Easter
• Some kind of Flourish
• Rhinestones

and here is what I came up with . . .

Recipe:

Papers:  Paper Pizazz designer papers (scraps), green cs, hot pink cs

Stamps:  Paper Inspiration (sentiment)

Accessories:  Craft Concepts Secret Garden embossing folder, Cheery Lynn Designs Fanciful Fourish die, Hero Arts gems,Michaels satin ribbon, Bunny (RAK from Bette Henson), MS border punch, Liquid Applique

 * * * * * 

 Recently I've been sharing with you, creation inspired by other people in blogland and here are a few more.  I have always admired those who do 'sponging' and 'brayering' so well and I've been trying to make a few more creations with this technique ... trying to get better at it.  I find I can do the SPONGING better than the BRAYERING ... but will keep practicing with the brayer!

The background on this card was done completely with various TH blue distress inks and Eclipse masking medium.   I didn't like how the coloring was on the 'moon' so I ended up PUNCHING out the circle and letting the white card stock from the base card show through.  Worked out well I think!

Stamps:  American Art

The background on this card uses TH distress inks in blues & greens. The moon was created by punching out a circle from the Eclipse masking and placing on the white panel before beginning the sponging.  And star were added to the sky with a white GellyRoll pen.

Stamps:  Penny Black, Stampscapes, SU

This card was cased from Heather Telfords card found HERE.  

Using various inks ... SU, Momento, ColorBox and Eclipse masking.

Stamps:  Impression Obsession, Stampscapes, Stampendous, Anita's

Thanks so much for stopping by today!  I hope you've found inspiration in my work and will come join in the fun at Joan's Gardens and maybe even give this technique a try.  I'm always AMAZED at the outcome!

Have a wonderful day!

Darlene

Shelly's Images Challenge

WOW!  

Easter's right around the corner (April 8th) ... so today at Shelly's Images, 

we have an easy challenge for you and a FABULOUS FEATURED IMAGE perfect for the upcoming holiday!

The theme is:

"Show Us What You Got"

(Anything Goes)

and our FEATURED image is 'Easter Bunny' ... isn't he ADORABLE!!  

And, you can purchase him TODAY ONLY at a special REDUCED PRICE!! 

With Easter being so close, I decided to make up some Easter themed Hershey Bar Pouches for the Easter Bunny himself to put in the little ones baskets!  (And I have orders for them too ... from people! LOL)

Here's what I came up with ...

The 'pouch' is very easy to make ... here's a quick overview of the instructions.

Base Pouch:  Cut paper 7 1/2" x 6 1/2"

Score (on the 6 1/2 length) at 3" and 6"

which leaves a 1/2" panel for adhering

You will need a hole at the top to run your ribbon through.

And you'll also want to adhere the bottom so candy doesn't slip out.

The ribbon is cut at 30"

Chalk was used to color the bunny and the area out around the image ... and Prismacolor markers were used to color the basket, eggs & flowers.  Touches of various colored Stickles were added to the eggs & flowers for sparkle.  The background paper is from Paper Pizazz and the sentiment stamp is Paper Inspirations.

Other qualifying challenges:

Stampavie and more - Spring/Easter

 CYDI #5 - Over the Rainbow

 Digital Tuesday - Think Spring

SweetStamps - Think Spring

Paper Makeup Stamps - Critters

House of Gilli - Colors of Spring

Why not HOP right over and grab this fabulous image for yourself and make up a few of these treats for the 'kids' in your family ... they'll LOVE them!  Hope to see you at Shelly's Images this week ...remember ... the theme is ANYTHING GOES.  See you there!

Hugs,

Darlene

Oh dear, nearly forgot to mention the fabulous inspiration by my team mates at Shelly's Images ... you'll want to be sure and check out the AMAZING creations they have to share with you this week!  FABULOUS!!

Sisterhood of Crafters - Birthdays

Time for a new challenge at The Sisterhood of Crafters!  

Today our theme is one that we can ALL use more cards for ...

BIRTHDAYS

We are happy to announce that we have a sponsor for this week's challenge too!

SHABBY CHIC STAMP STORE

and, the prize will be their Build a Cake Stamp Set.
Cake is good for any occasion ... especially birthdays.  So come play along for a chance to win this fabulous stamp set. 

Here are a couple of cards I created and will be sharing at the 'Card Party' this weekend.  How cute is this little car load of kids!  It's actually a 'Bouncy' sticker by Darice and there is a light spring between the two images to give it dimension and movement. 

My second card utilizes a technique I learned while visiting June down at the 1820's Shoppe in Zoar.  The image is stamped on dark paper with white CHALK ink then using CHALK DUST, you apply the color with small cotton balls ... then heat set it.  I have used Pebbles, Inc. pearlescent chalks (jewel tone) for this creation.  I've also embossed over the designer paper for added texture.

 

I hope you'll come join us at The Sisterhood of Crafters and for more inspiration, pop on over and check out the awesome creations by our design team!  Hope to see you there!

Other Qualifying Challenges:

Little Darlings Challenge - Spring is in the Air

Ladybug Crafts Ink TLT Challenge - Anything Goes

Papertake Weekly - One for the Girls or Mum

Party Time Tuesday #59 - Monochromatic

Hugs,

Darlene

EXCITED to share . . .

I just could NOT wait to share this with you!

Back at the end of last year, I was asked to become a Freelance Crafter for Jo-ann Fabrics & Craft Stores which is headquartered in Hudson, Ohio, and create a few projects for them.  Of course I was thrilled to do so and made two different projects which were to be shared Spring 2012 as 'Project Sheets' in the Jo-ann Fabrics stores across the country.  HOW COOL IS THAT!

So if you are in your local Jo'ann Fabrics & Craft store and see the project sheet shown below ... you will know who the creator was ... " ME " ... LOL!

They supplied me with all the product needed and the idea ... 

all I had to do was make their vision become a reality.

I LOVED this creation and really enjoyed making it!  

It looks SO COOL when the lights are lit!

 

The project sheets they provide 'FREE' in the stores are so helpful.

There is a list of supplies & directions on the reverse side of the project image.

So you can get everything you need and get started!

As soon as I see my other project posted, I'll be sure to share it with you.

Thanks for letting me "Toot My Horn" a bit ... 

Hugs,

Darlene

More Inspiration from Heather . . .

Over the weekend, I shared a few creations with you that I made while being inspired by Heather Telford (Bits & Pieces) and promised to share a few more with you later in the week.  So, here we go . . .

 These first two cards were created by first making a 'mask'.
 I took a piece of cardstock the same size as what I was using for the front of my card and cut an oval in it using my largest Spellbinder classic oval die.  Then attached it to my white panel using removal tape on either side.
 Next I  proceeded to do my stamping and sponging before removing the mask.

Sympathy card:
Inks: SU old olive and pink pirouette
Stamps: SU Embrace Life and Stem Silouettes

Thinking of You card:
Inks:  SU old olive and Delicata 'Golden Glitz'
Stamps:  SU French Scrips and Autumn Leaf Prints

   I am SUPER THRILLED with how this 'Winter Birthday' creation turned out!  Following the masking, sponging guidelines on one of Heather's posts, I was able to achieve this beautiful creation.

Winter Birthday card:
Inks:  Tim Holtz distress inks ... broken china & tumbled glass, SU Soft Sky
Stamps:  Penny Black 'Winter Sky' and the sentiment is Impression Obsession
"Eclipse" masking medium was used for the masking.  Large sponge daubers were used for sponging.

Several of the cards I've made over the past couple of days have an 'oriental' feel to them and there's a reason for that.  The lady hosting the 'card party' next weekend loves Japanese style.  Now, I will admit ... that is definitely NOT my style, but I am really trying to create something that will be close to what she has in mind.  When I saw THIS CARD  on Heather's blog I thought perhaps it would be close to what Barb is looking for.

Heartfelt card:
Inks:  SU Almost Amethyst, ColorBox Rose Coral chalk ink
Stamps:  SU 'Embrace Life', SU 'Heartfelt Thanks'
Accessories:  black Galaxy marker (color in flowers), white Gelly Roll Pen (for accent on flowers), large sponge daubers

Lastly, is a card that using embossing & brayering. Here is a Link to Heather's card that I cased and she explains the steps that she took. I used different colors than she did on her card but followed her steps in creating it ... with the exception of the Masking Fluid ... I don't have any of that but will certainly be looking to purchase some ... she uses it on several of her creations.

Friend card
Inks:  SU River Rock, Wild Wasabi, Versamark
Stamps:  SU 'Stem Silhouettes', Crafty Secrets 'Wildflowers' (dragonfly & sentiment)
Paper:  SU River Rock, black

Sorry for such a long posting but I just couldn't help but share these creations with you today.  I have a couple more that were inspired from another lady that I will share with you at the end of the week.  Thanks so much for being patient with me while I boast a bit. LOL!  I guess I've gotten away from actual stamping & techniques lately and it has certainly felt good to get 'inky' again.  Hope you found some inspiration through this posting also!  HAPPY DAY!

Hugs,
Darlene