Rain or Shine.....

Hello everyone: I'm back for a second post today but this time my card is for the CASology  "Weather" challenge. It took me a while to figure out what kind of card to create that was weather related until I remember I had this cute Stampin Up! set called "In this Together" so I picked this image to make my card.

I love all of the images on this set, this girls are very stylish and elegant and it makes really pretty cards for women, young and "old".

I stamped the image onto Canson water color paper with Stazon Jet Black ink and colored with SU markers and the aqua painter. The clouds were die cut with a set I think it's from Cherry Lynn but I'm not totally sure. Then,  I needed to create some rain so I started fiddling with a pencil on a scrap piece of paper, trying to make little drops.....well, needless to say, it was a big flop. Then I thought maybe I could just kind of draw straight lines to resemble rain but that was a second big flop and then the fabulous and totally underestimated (at least by me.....sometimes) Gorgeous Grunge stamp set from SU came into my mind and I knew I had what I needed to make rain. I stamped the "rain" with silver ink from a pad that it's kind of dry but that was fine because I also used it to sponge some dark sky and the clouds

Here is a picture of the finished inside.

Here is the Cue Card that inspired mine.

Here's the picture of the sets I used.

Forgive the blue background, I had a hard time taking this pictures.

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

Hugs from Maria.

Flower Frames.....

Hello everyone: I have a very Springy card to share with you today for the Try Stamping on Tuesday sketch challenge by Kaylin, here is my card.

This card was made with 6 different stamp sets, 5 from Flourishes and one from SU. All of this sets have smaller versions of the main image so I took these and stamped them onto Canson water color paper with Stazon Jet Black ink, colored them with SU markers and the aqua painter and I added some shadows and highlights with Prismacolor pencils. 

The butterfly is from SU "Papillon Potpourri", colored with SU markers too.

The little frames are from a Spellbinders set called Fleur de Lis square dies, I punched the middle to place the 1" punched square with the painted images inside. The pattern paper is from Lili of the Valley, ribbon from my stash, I don't seem to make a dent in it. 

Here is a picture of the inside of my card.

Here is the sketch that inspired this card, I just move the sentiment and embellishment to the top.

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

Hugs from Maria.

This are the Flourishes sets.

I don't know where this butterfly set came from, it's very old.

Just Because.....for CAS{E} this Sketch!.....

Hello again, everyone: I have another card to share with you today that was done in just about 30min.  I wanted to brake the seal of my new Tim Holtz distress inks I got from my local Hobby Lobby store with my 40% off coupon, they are a bargain, specially when they are on sale, woo hoo!!
I will link up this card to the CAS{E} this Sketch! by Sam Simpson, here is my card.

The colors I use to stencil the front of my card base are Peacock Feathers, Spiced Marmalade, Squeezed Lemonade, Shabby Shutters and Picked Raspberry. I used a little of Spiced Marmalade and Ripe Persimmon on the Butterfly , her body and antennae are colored with Prismacolor pencils. The sentiment is from my stash and it 's stamped with SU Rich Razleberry ink, I stamped one of the images of the SU set called "Gorgeous Grunge" in gold ink, to follow the sketch.

Here is a picture of the finished inside of my card.

The sentiment and strawberry images are from the retired Flourishes stamp set called "Strawberries".

Here is the sketch that inspired my card.

And the picture of the stamps I used.

Thank you for stopping by, until next time, (a bit later if I find some time) happy stamping.

Hugs from Maria.

Freshly Made Sketches #229.....

Hello everyone: I have a card to share with you for the Freshly Made Sketches with a really fabulous sketch by Cindy H., here is my card.

This card if for my almost 18 year old granddaughter who's about to graduate High School and, like so many future graduates, it's a bit undecided of what to do. She is an accomplished Viola player, plays with the Crown Point High School Symphony Orchestra and also belongs to the Chamber Orchestra, she also is an amazing water colorist and swimmer, forgive me if I sound to much like a grandma but I'm so very proud of her and the wonderful young woman she has become.

This card is simple, the flower and flourish image is a die cut but I don't remember where I got it from, I apologize, this die was bought long before I decided to have a blog so I never bother to save the package or name.

I die cut it using Canson water color paper and I colored it with SU markers and the aqua painter, the Musical Notes  are from My Favorite Things and I die cut them with gold foil paper.

Here is a picture of the finished inside of my card. I hope my granddaughter realizes that the road ahead is open and wide, the sky is the limit when it comes to what an 18 year old can do, the important thing is to be happy doing what she loves.

Here is the sketch that inspired my card.

I changed the line for the floral flourish and the squares for circles and added a bit of bling with some Rhine Stones, I hope this is ok for this challenge.

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

Hugs from Maria.

Peony Bouquet.....

Hello everyone: I have a card to share with you today I made using my brand, spanking new Altenew stamp set called Peony Bouquet . This stamp was out of stock for a while so I put on a request to be notified when it was back in stock and, when I got that email, I pounced on it, no sense in waiting, right?
Here is my card.

Ok, this card is a humble CASE of THIS ONE by the amazingly talented Marika Rahtu, her style of coloring with Copic markers and coloring pencils is simply incredible, I've learned a lot by watching her create her cards and this one is no exception. 

I stamped my flowers with Stazon Dove Gray ink because I wanted to keep it soft, but first, I created a little mask of this single flower so I could stamp the flowers and then, I colored them with SU markers and my Prismacolor pencils, softening the lines a little with a paper stump lightly dipped in baby oil, then I fussy cut them and placed them on the panel using foam dimensionals. 

I didn't have the embossed card stock she used and my wood grain embossing folder was not giving me the look I wanted so, I decided to heat emboss that panel with the SU Hardwood stamp. 

I don't know if you can see the lines, I was having a bit of a hard time taking this photos. I remember seeing a video on Pinterest about creating a little box with white walls for your pictures so, I grabbed some sheets of white cardstock and took this other picture, I think  here you can see the embossed panel better.

The only problem with this picture is that I forgot to put my little piece of paper with my blog's name.  I need to learn how to create a water mark for my blog pictures!!

But anyway, I'm learning as I go and this is something that absolutely needs to be DONE!!!!!

Here is a picture of the finished inside of my card.

I'm linking this card to the following challenges.

"Less is More" "What's Outside Your Window" challenge.

The Card Concept "Naturally Pink" challenge.

The Addicted to Stamps and More challenge #186 "Anything Goes"

 The Sisterhood of Crafters photo inspiration challenge.

The Stamping Sensations "Flower Power" challenge.

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

Hugs from Maria.

It's Your Day!!! Live a Little!!...

Hello everyone: Well, yesterday was one of those Internet bad days for me, something was going on with my service, I still don't know what it was, nor do I care, I don't understand this techy stuff when it's working well, so when it's not working.....well.....I was frustrated to say the least.
So, lets move to a more pleasant subject, shall we?
I have a card to share with you today (well, this was for yesterday but.....never mind) that I will link to the Tuesday Morning Sketches and the Cardz 4 Galz "Cute and Cuddly" challenge, here is my card

This image it's from a sadly retired SU set called "Peace Within" from the 2009-2010 catalog, just so sweet, I think this kitty totally fits the "Cute and Cuddly" theme at Cardz 4 Galz.

I stamped the image onto Canson water color paper with Stazon Jet Black ink and colored it with my SU markers and the aqua painter, I added some shadows and highlights with Prismacolor pencils, I'm liking a lot the great shading I get from them.

The pattern paper is from Lili of the Valley, the sentiment is stamped using two Power Poppy stamp sets,  Go Wild and Dynamic Duos , both with gorgeous images.

Here is a picture of the finish inside.

Here, I also used two Power Poppy sets, Best Day Ever and Countryside Bouquet Deluxe .

Here are the banners that inspired my card.

And here is the picture of the retired SU set.

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

Hugs from Maria.

Hello Spring!!!!!

And hello to all of you too!!
I have a card to share with you to officially welcome back SPRING, this wonderful Season of renewal and rebirth. The first signs of it's arrival are here, I can see the branches of the trees full of little buds, my bulbs are peeking out of the ground and soon, I will see the little Violas also waking up in the flower beds, I planted some in small flower pots but I think the seeds must have flown all over the place, some landing in those flower beds, love it, here is my card, that I will link to The Paper Players  "Clean and Simple Celebrate Spring", challenge and the Get Creative Challenge #35 "Must Use Green", here is my card.

This image is from a retired Flourishes stamp set called "Sweet Violets", it's stamped onto Canson water color paper with Stazon Jet Black ink and colored with my Prismacolor pencils and paper stumps dipped in baby oil. 

The pattern paper is from Lili of the Valley, the sentiment is from another Flourishes set called "Botanical Bookplates" and I die cut it with one of THIS Spellbinders label dies. 

The ribbon is from my never ending stash.

Here is a picture of the finished inside of my card.

The sentiment is from a retired SU set called "Faith in Nature", a 2011-2012 Hostess set, just so beautiful.

Here are the banners that inspired my card.

And here are the pictures of the stamp sets I used to create my card.

This is the SU set.

This one is the Flourishes "Sweet Violets" set.

And this is the Flourishes "Botanical Plates" set.

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

Hugs from Maria.

REJOICE!!!!!

Hello everyone: I have a card to share with you I want to link to the Just Add Ink "Just add E"  challenge for this week. With Easter just around the corner I need to make a few more cards for my family and friends, here's one more to add to my growing stash.

This image is from a retired Flourishes set called "He is Risen".  I stamped it onto Canson water color paper with Stazon Jet Black ink and colored it with SU markers and the aqua painter, then I die cut it with Spellbinders Scalloped Oval dies. I sponged a bit of silver and blue inks around the edges to frame it better. The sentiment is from the same set and it's stamped with Old Olive ink. The pattern paper is from my stash, so is the ribbon. I didn't add any more embellishments, I really didn't think it needed them.

Here is a picture of the finished inside.

And the picture of this very much loved stamp set.

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

Hugs from Maria.

EAT YOUR CAKE AND NAP TOO!!!!!

Hello everyone: I have a card I want to share with you that I will link to the SIP Sketch Challenge from Ginger, I just turned it on the horizontal to fit my mousy image.

Oh my gosh!! this little mouse looks sooooo happy, with it's belly full of cake, I kind of look like that after eating birthday cake, only not as cute, LOL!!

This image is from House Mouse, you know how much I adore this little mice siblings, it's called "Have your Cake and Nap Too", so darn adorable.

I stamped it onto Canson water color paper with Stazon Jet Black ink and colored it with SU markers and the aqua painter. I embossed the background and stamped the sentiment with one of my many Birthday Greetings from my stash. 

Here is a picture of the finish inside.

The sentiment is from a Flourishes retired set called "Pinwheels and Popsicles" and the cup cake detail is from another Flourishes set called "Lots of Thoughts".

Here is the sketch that inspired my card.

And the stamp sets I used to create it.

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

Hugs from Maria.