Stretching myself with Azaleas.....

Hello everyone: I have a card to share with you for the Power Poppy "Stretch Yourself" challenge.  Here is my card.

Bloomie Tosha Leyendeker is asking us to stretch ourselves by either making a long and somewhat skinny card or maybe trying something new or challenging. Well, my card is 3" x 6 1/2" so that fits the challenge but I also incorporated some DSP from Lili of the Valley, (unfortunately, they are not selling anymore of this glorious papers, which I love for their beauty and also because they are one sided). Those of you who know me are aware of my total lack of an eye for combining DSP on my cards, so I hope I did a good job on this one.

The image is from the beautiful Power Poppy set, by the amazing Marcella Howley called Azaleas , I stamped this flowers onto a panel of Canson water color paper and colored with the aqua painter and SU markers in Rich Razzleberry, Always Artichoke and a bit of Chocolate Chip for the stem and the shadow under the glass. The "water" in the vase has a bit of Bashful Blue. 

Here is a close up of this lovely blooms.

I used my Prismacolor pencil #995 Mulberry, to add some texture to the petals and a bit of white for highlights. I made a pretty bow with some gold thread and linen thread, leaving the ends to just hang.

Here is a picture of the finished inside.

And here is the banner that inspired this card.

Thank you for stopping by, until next time, happy stamping.

Hugs from Maria.

Pretty in Orange for CAS(E) this Sketch!.....

Hello again, everyone: I have another card I want to share with you today, I saw the CAS(E) this Sketch! this morning and I went to work right away. It didn't take me long but I think it came out really pretty. Here is my card.

I recently purchased this retired Flourishes stamp set from Ebay and decided to ink it up for this card. I love the flowers on it but it's the little bee that really caught my eye, it's so sweet and so detailed, I love it.  As always, I stamped the flowers onto a panel of Canson water color paper with Stazon Jet Black ink.  I stamped the flower twice on copy paper to make the mask to sponge a bit of Broken China distress ink after I stamped them onto the panel. 

I colored them with the aqua painter and SU Tangerine Tango, Daffodil Delight and Always Artichoke markers, then added a bit of Wink of Stella to the flowers and a bit of Dazzling Details to the little bee's wings. 

The sentiment is from the set. Here is a picture of the finished inside.

Here is the banner that inspired this card.

Thank you for stopping by, until next time, happy stamping.

Hugs from Maria.

Pretty in Yellow (this time).....

Hello again everyone: I have another card to share with you today for the Muse Challenge #150 and the Freshly Made Sketches #221 sketch challenge, here is my card.

I've been making cards with flowers lately, maybe it's because I can't wait for Spring, although I shouldn't complain, this Winter has been kind of mild up here in NW Indiana but still, it's cold and gray, I want to see the garden bloom again, specially my Tulips and Daffodils.

This image is from a sadly retired set by Flourishes called "Tulips for Friends", this gorgeous images just invite you to sit and color them in any shade you want.  I stamped the image onto a panel of Canson water color paper with Stazon Jet Black ink and colored it with the aqua painter and SU markers in Daffodil Delight, More Mustard, Old Olive and Chocolate Chip. I added some highlights with Prismacolor pencils, specially on the edge of the flower, I wanted to give it a little depth. 

To follow the Muse card by Jenni Murray I stamped the script with gold pigment ink and heat embossed it with clear embossing powder then, I sponged lightly some SU Hello Honey ink.

The sentiment is from the same set and it's stamped onto a piece of Chocolate Chip card stock with Versamark ink and heat embossed with SU Crushed Curry embossing powder (retired). Then, I paper snipped it so it wouldn't look to big, I didn't want to overwhelm the flower panel.

I wanted to paper snip the flower but, on a practice attempt on a scrap of water color paper, it didn't look good at all so I just left it alone.

Here is a picture of the finished inside. The sentiment is from the same set, the die cut from Spellbinders Oval Regalia.

This is the Muse card that inspired mine.

And the sketch from FMS.

Thank you for stopping by, until next time, happy stamping.

Hugs from Maria.

Addicted to CAS.....RED.....

Hello everyone: This week at Addicted to CAS the Cue Word is RED, perfect for Valentine's Day, which is just around the corner. Here is my card.

The image is from "I Brake for Stamps" and it's stamped onto a panel of Canson water color paper with Stazon Jet Black ink and colored with the aqua painter and SU Real Red and Old Olive markers, I did a bit of highlighting with a red Prismacolor pencil and added a bit of shimmer with a Wink of Stella brush.  I die cut this image with the retired SU Windows Frame Collection.

The sentiment is from a retired SU set called "Whimsical Words", I stamped it with Versamark Ink and heat embossed in white. I punched the little heart with the Owl Builder Punch.

Here is a close up.

This is a picture of the finished inside, stamped with retired SU set called "Valentine Defined", the sentiment is from a Power Poppy by Marcella Hawley set called Short Stacks , both are stamped with SU Strawberry Slush.

Here is the Code Word that inspired this card.

Thank you for stopping by, until next time, happy stamping.

Hugs from Maria.

Pretty in Pink for SIP and The Paper Players.....

Hello everyone: I have another card to share with you today and I'm linking it to The Paper Players sketch challenge and the StampInkPaper Tic Tac Toe challenge. I picked the middle row going horizontally, Floral, Love, Pink.  Here is my card.

This image is from Power Poppy by Marcella Howley and its from the set called Go Wild .

I stamped the image onto Canson water color paper and Stazon Jet Black ink and colored it with the aqua painter and this SU markers: Regal Rose, Pretty in Pink, Bashful Blue, Old Olive, Garden Green and a little Real Red for the strawberries.  I die cut the image with the retired SU Framelitz Label Collection and did a bit of paper piercing too. 

The retired (one sided) DSP is from Lili of the Valley, the rest is from my stash. The sentiment is from the same set and it's heat embossed in white.

Here is a picture of the finished inside.

The inside sentiment is also from this set and it's stamped with Strawberry Slush on a banner I die cut using Spellbinders Banner set.

Here are the challenge banners that inspired this card.

 

Thank you for stopping by, until next time, happy stamping.

Hugs from Maria.

The Challenge #58.....Masculine.....

Hello everyone: I don't know about you but I hardly ever make masculine cards, I tend to lean towards flowers or cute little critters so cards for men are difficult for me to create.  But heck!! I love a challenge and The Challenge  has a challenge this week and it's all about masculine cards so, here is the card I made, I hope it fits the theme.

This image is from Northwoods Rubber Stamps , I had it for a long time, I just love it and THIS is the image I used.  I see the squirrels rushing around in my back yard from my craft room windows and sometimes, they are on the roof and I can see them peeking inside while I'm sitting at my work table, from the gutters. 

I know they are cute and I really wanted to make a masculine card so I just kept it simple, no bling, no sentiment, just a background of embossed trees done with SU Woodland Embossing folder.

I colored this image with Prismacolor pencils and paper stumps dipped in baby oil, the berries with SU Cherry Cobbler Marker and the branches with SU Crumb Cake and Chocolate chip.

I sponged the sky with Tim Holtz Broken China distress ink.

Here is a close up.

Here is a picture of the finished inside.

And here is the masculine banner that inspired this card. I know this picture has nothing to do with squirrels, in my defense, this little critter is a boy.

Thank you for stopping by, until next time, happy stamping.

Hugs from Maria.

UNDER CAFFEINE?.....

Hello everyone: I have a fun and easy card to share with you today. The "Less is More" challenge for this week is "SILHOUETTES", here is my card.

This kitty image is from a set by Katzelkraft and it's called Les Furieux , if you are a cat lover or not, this images are just irresistibly funny. This cat is apparently just waking up and it's asking that very important question we all face in the mornings.

I stamped this image onto a panel of Ninah Solar White card stock with Memento Tuxedo Black ink, I just colored the kitty's eyes in green and added a dot of pink for it's nose.

Here is the finished inside, which answers the question on the front.

This coffee cup is from a retired Flourishes set called "Grab a Cup", I stamped the little sentiment on it, just to really make a statement.  I know that most of us can't function without that first cup of coffee, so this card was made thinking of all of you.

I hope you go check out the "Less is More" challenge and give this fun challenge a try.

Until next time, happy stamping.

Hugs from Maria.

One Layer Jingle Bells.....

Hello everyone: I have a card to share with you today to participate in the Merry Monday Christmas challenge #189 One Layer Christmas cards, the Happy Little Stampers JINGLE challenge and the One Layer Christmas Card challenge #24, "Anything Goes".  Here is my card.

This image is from a retired Flourishes stamp set called Christmas Classics. Since the challenges called for One Layer cards, I cut a piece of 8"x 5 1/2" Canson water color paper and folded it at 4", then I grabbed  this retired SU embossing folder (I couldn't remember the name) and embossed the front panel, then I stamped the image from a retired Flourishes set called "Christmas Classics" and colored it with the aqua painter and SU markers in Real Red, Garden Green, Old Olive, Tempting Turquoise and More Mustard, I added some shading and highlights with Prismacolor pencils and gold and silver gel pens. I heat embossed the sentiment, which is from the same set, in gold and I added a few Rhine Stones for a bit of bling.

I love how the embossing folder design frames this image.

Here is a picture of the inside.

The sentiment and the sprig of pine are from a Power Poppy set, by Marcella Howley called Merry Littles .

Here are the banners that inspired this card.

                                    

    

I hope you stop by this blogs and give this challenges a try.

Thank you so much for stopping by, until next time, happy stamping.

Hugs from Maria.

Koi and Bubbles.....

Hello everyone: I have a card to share with you today for the CAS(E) this Sketch! challenge.  Here is my card.

When I saw the sketch by Michele Ferguson I knew the chance to use this bubble stamp finally arrived. The Stamp set is from Designs by Ryn and it's called  Rising Bubbles , I just love the realistic look of this beautiful bubbles, this picture is taken from the side.

I wanted to create an underwater little scene so I stamped the bubbles onto a piece of vellum just to see where I was going to stamp the pretty Koi fish, from a retired Flourishes set called Water Lilies.
Then I stamped the fish on a piece of scrap paper and snipped them out, applied a bit of two way glue to  make them sticky to use as a mask for when I stamped the bubbles.  I used my MISTI to place the fish on top of the vellum piece stamped with the bubbles, ink them up and stamped them onto the water color paper panel. I placed the snipped fish on top of them and, using the vellum with the bubbles, I placed the stamp on the MISTI and stamped both images, removed the mask and colored the fish with Prismacolor pencils. I did look for pictures just to get the colors as close to the real ones as possible.

Here is a picture of the inside of my card.

The sentiment is stamped with SU Tangelo Twist and the Lotus Flowers with Strawberry Slush, both are from this set.

Here is the sketch that inspired this card.

Thank you so much for stopping by, until next time, happy stamping.

Hugs from Maria.