We're All in this Together.....

Hello everyone: This image is NOT from a stamp, I sketched it a while ago from one of my grandkids school books, I just fell in love with this pair of baby Emperor Penguins. I took it home and stuck it right there by my work table wondering what I was going to do with it until I saw the Muse Christmas Visions challenge and then, I knew this little image was just waiting for it.  Here is my card.

Ok, I took a piece of Vellum and copied the image I drew with pencil then, when I was happy with it I went over it with a Zig Millenium .01 black pen being careful and making sure the lines were nice and even all around the images. Once I had this done then came the question, how to color this little guys so, I went to Google and looked for baby Emperor Penguins pictures and I saw they are kind of grayish but their heads are black. So I grabbed my black Prismacolor pencil and went to work, drawing soft lines and blending them with a paper stump that has very little baby oil.  For their faces, I went in the back of the Vellum with the white pencil, I did the same for the ice and snow under their little bodies.  I sponged a bit of blue for the sky and that was it. 

The sentiment is from my Power Poppy set called Sassy Succulents and it's stamped with Versafine Onix Black ink. 

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

The sentiment is from the same set, the little bird on the corner is from a retired SU set called "Snow Much Fun".

Here is the Muse picture that inspired my card.

I'm linking this card also to the Crafting from the Heart "Anything Goes"

and

Crafty Sentiment Designs "Anything Goes".

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

Hugs from Maria.

Stamps that I used.

Fairy Celebration for the Pals.....

Hello everyone: I'm a little late posting my card, I had some running around this morning and this stuff took a bit longer than expected, then my daughter called me to see if I could go pick up my granddaughters after Summer Orchestra practice and, since I was fairly close, I did.
But anyway, last Monday, I received my SU order with one of my most favorite sets in the new catalog, the Fairy Celebration, which I know you'll agree, it's just beautiful.
So, using the fabulous sketch from The Pals Paper Arts, by Lisa Ann Bernard, I made this card.

This little Faeries just stole my heart the second I laid eyes on them when I opened my catty, I immediately marked the page because I wanted to order this set as soon as the catalog went live. 

The wait was horrible!!!!! so, in the mean time,  I browsed the pages of the catty that morning, savoring a cup of coffee and cake and kept marking more sets that I knew I was going to get. 

On June 1st. I placed my order, I think it was like 6am. and then, just patiently waited.

I stamped this sweetie onto a panel of Canson water color paper with Stazon Jet Black ink and colored with SU markers and the aqua painter. I added a bit of Wink of Stella to her wings and colored the dots on them with gold gel pen.  

The sentiment comes with the set and I just love it!!! so true for a lot of situations in life. I stamped it on Vellum with Versafine Onix Black ink and heat embossed it with clear embossing powder, because I didn't want to cover any part of the Fairy or the pattern paper from Lili of the Valley, I added 4 Rhine Stones in soft Purple to attach the Vellum to the panel.

The flower on the bottom corner was cut with the new Botanical Builder framelits, this is another fantastic addition to my craft room.

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

The sentiment is from a retired Flourishes set called "Pears" and the little flowers on the corner are from the retired "Flowering Fields", such pretty little flowers.

Here is the sketch that inspired my card.

I'm also linking this card to the AAA Cards Game #66 Watercolours 

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

Hugs from Maria.

Daisy Wishes.....

Hello everyone:  I love Daisies, they are such beautiful and simple little white or yellow flowers yet that are very unassuming, when they grow wild on my flower beds, I leave them alone, they add such a charming look next to the Hydrangeas and I often pick them for my mom.
The Addicted to CAS  challenge's CODE WORD "PETALS" made me reach for this image from a retired SU set called "Every Moment" to create my card, I'm also linking this card to the STAMPlorations June CAS challenge "Anything CAS goes with an optional twist of blue", (I didn't add the blue) and the CASual Fridays #149 with a theme of FLORALS,  here is my card.

Super simple and, I think, clean card to make, I used Antique Linen distress ink to stamp the daisy onto a panel of craft paper and I colored it with Prismacolor pencils, then I stamped the flower again onto a scrap piece and, after I colored some of the petals, I fussy cut them to place them near the flower to appear like they are blowing away from it, I stamped the sentiment, from a retired Flourishes set called "Pinwheels and Popsicles" with SU white craft ink and heat emboss it with clear embossing powder.

Here is a picture of the inside of my card.

The sentiment is from a retired SU set called "Whimsical Words".

Here are the banners that inspired my card.

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

Hugs from Maria.

Stamp sets I used.

Hanging the Stockings.....

Hello everyone: The Merry Monday challenge this week is hosted by Sue Joyce and she chose a theme of Christmas cards for kids so, using the awesome sketch from Mojo Monday I created this card.

This image is from Lili of the Valley and it's stamped onto Canson water color paper with Versafine Onix Black ink and heat embossed with clear embossing powder. I colored it with SU markers and the aqua painter. I sponged some SU Baked Brown Sugar to give the illusion of a fire place, I don't know if I succeeded in this but I do like the vintage look this ink gave to this panel.

The pattern paper is from my stash and the sentiment is from Power Poppy's set called Spice it Up! .

I added a little bling with a few red Rhine Stones to the sentiment and the little red bow on the mantel. The image is die cut with Spellbinders Decorative Labels 8.

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

The sentiment is from the same Power Poppy set, the little present is from another Power Poppy set called Merry Littles, which is my "go to" set to add something pretty for the inside of my Christmas cards.

Here are the banners that inspired my card.

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

Hugs from Maria.

I think this stamp is discontinued, I've had it for about a year now and I couldn't find it at the store.

Let's Have Tea.....

Hello dear friends: I have some really awesome news!!! I've been asked to join the Shop Our Stash Challenge Blog Design Team and I couldn't be happier. I've come a long way from my very first post, but it was until much later that I started participating in challenges mainly because I'm a bit computer challenged.  Most of you who have followed me from by very humble beginnings know that I love this craft but you also know that I'm a bit challenged by all the techy stuff around blogging and posting pictures but, with the fabulous help of my more experienced blogging friends I've been able to learn a lot about this stuff since I started this little blog back on December 9th. of 2014 so, it's my privilege and joy to create my very first post for the Shopping Our Stash Challenge #255 with a theme of "Tea For Two", you can use Coffee also, here is my card.

This image is from a retired Flourishes set called "Let's Have Tea", I love this tea pot, I can imagine sitting with a dear friend having a cup of fragrant tea and chatting for a while.

I stamped the image onto Strathmore Multimedia water color paper with Dove Gray Stazon Ink and colored it with SU markers and the aqua painter, the pattern paper is from Lili of the Valley and the ribbon from my bottomless drawer, I don't seem to be making any kind of dent in it at all!! 

I always like to finish my cards inside, this saves me a ton of time when it comes to mailing them.

Both the sentiment and the little tea pot and cup are from this same set.

I hope you give this challenge a try.  I'm linking this card to the IN{K}SPIRE_me challenge, I used their sketch to create this card.

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

Hugs from Maria.

Papa Bear Father's Day.....

Hello dear friends: June is well on it's way, the weather is getting warmer and Father's Day is just around the corner so, with this special day in mind and using the fabulous sketch from Retro Rubber challenge #40this week and the Father's Day theme from The Paper Players and the Uniko Studio Masculine theme with the twist of "Father's Day", the Cute Card Tuesday challenge #428, I created this card.

This is a discontinued or retired stamp from Lili of the Valley, I had this stamp for over 2 years. I stamped the image onto Strathmore Multimedia water color paper with Versafine Onix Black ink and embossed it with clear embossing powder. I like this paper because it's thinner than the 140lb. I use sometimes therefore it's easy to fussy cut your images like I did in this case. I cut the Papa Bear sitting on his comfy chair looking at his little cub giving him a Father's Day gift, the slippers and coffee and cookies are part of this image too, I just thought they would look so fabulous "laying" on the "rug".

I colored this images with SU markers and the aqua painter, the paper is from a discontinued line from Lili of the Valley.

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

Here are the banners that inspired my card.

I hope you guys give this challenge a try, as always, please use stamps that are at least one year old, this is really not so hard to do, all of us have a bunch of this beloved stamp sets in our craft rooms so, lets ink them up and share them in our gallery. 

Please stop by the fabulous Retro Rubber designers to check their beautiful creations and get inspired to participate. 

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

Hugs from Maria.

House Mouse Friend to Friend.....

Hello dear friends: Most of you know how much I love, love the House Mouse siblings, the images on all the stamps are endearing and adorable and this little critters are doing all kinds of fun and sweet stuff, one can't help but love them.
The "Just Us Girls" challenge is asking us to make a card with BIRDS in it so, I used the sketch from Sunday Stamps Weekly Challenge #128 to make mine.

Now, is this sweet and adorable or what? This stamp is called Hummingbird Feeder.  I stamped the image onto Canson water color paper with Versafine Onix Black ink and heat embossed it with clear embossing powder, I've found out that doing this, helps a lot when water coloring because the color stays inside the thin line of embossing. I colored it with SU markers and the aqua painter. For the Hummingbird's green feathers I used a  Crayola marker that had this vibrant color matching the actual color of this beautiful birds.

The patter paper is from a retired line from Lili of the Valley, the sentiment is from SU Teeny, Tiny Wishes, punched with the retired Word Window punch.

I started finishing my cards this year as a New Year's resolution, it saves me a ton of time when I send them to family and friends.

The sentiment and the Hummingbird are from a retired Flourishes set called "Humming Along" and the flowers in the corner are from a retired SU set called "Peaceful Petals". 

Here are the banners that inspired my card.

Here are the stamps I used to create this card.

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

Hugs from Maria.

Try Stamping on Tuesday #273.....

Hello everyone: The Try Stamping on Tuesday challenge blog has a new sketch for us to play along, this is the card I made with it.

This image is from a retired Flourishes set called "Grab a Cup", I love all of this fantastic images.

I stamped this one onto a piece of Strathmore Multimedia water color paper after masking the lemon wedge on the stamp, and colored it with SU markers and the aqua painter. The flowers inside the cup are from a retired SU set called "Every Moment", I also stamped them on water color paper and then, fussy cut them, they look very similar to the flowers on this image then, I die cut it with Spellbinders circle dies. 

The butterfly is from SU Papillion Potpourri and it's colored with Melon Mambo ink, the sentiment is from SU Teeny Tiny Wishes. 

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

This sentiment is I think from Penny Black but I'm not sure, the butterfly is from the same set from SU, this is such a beautiful group of images.

Here is the sketch that inspired my card.

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

Hugs from Maria.

Stamps I used.