Pisces.....

Hello everyone: March is in full swing although Spring hasn't shown her pretty face yet, still a bit cold (32 degrees) up here in Crown Point, IN., but I trust that soon, we'll see the first signs that the season of renewal is finally here.

And speaking of signs, I have a card to share today created with a NBUS set from Stampin' Up! called "All The Good Things, love the beautiful Koi fish and the lovely sentiments, oh, and that little Bonsai is just precious.

I went CAS all the way (I think), stamping the smaller of the Koi with Spiced Marmalade at the center of the panel twice.  The orange hue around the fish was not in the plans but, I accidentally rubbed the image with the sleeve of my blouse and smudged it a bit, I tried to remove it with a damp brush but it was making it worse so I decided to just "smudge" the whole image and I think it worked ok.

Don't you hate when these darn accidents happen😒?

Anyway, the Pisces symbol was copied from Google, first sketched lightly with pencil and then, when I was happy with it, I went over it with a fine point black marker.  The sentiment was stamped with Versafine black ink.

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This is how the INSIDE of my card looks like.

The sentiment is from the set and the little Koi fish from a discontinued Flourishes set called "Waterlily" that came out back in 2009!! The rest of this set is truly gorgeous.

I'm playing along with the following challenges.

"Less is More"

2 Crafty Critter Crazies

Challenge #24 "Anything Goes with a Critter"

Creatalicious Challenge #158

Anything Goes/option CAS.

Scrap from your Heart

Challenge #31 "CAS"

Sparkles Monthly Challenges #131 

Include an animal.

Thank you for stopping by, your comments always make my day.

XO
Maria.

Bouncing Baby Girl!!!!!

Hello everyone and a very happy March 1st.!!!!! Only 21 more days till Spring makes its long-awaited appearance, let us hope warm temperatures are on their merry way and soon the flowers and trees will start blooming again.

I have a baby card to add to my stash just in case I need it, you never know, right?  So here is it, in all her BOUNCING glory.

This is one of the cutest baby stamp sets from SU ever!! Its name is "Baby Bundle" and it came out back in the 2010-2011 catalog, it's full of the sweetest little images, like the tiny booties and that adorable onesie. 

I stamped it on a die cut panel of white card stock with Memento black ink (my Stazon pad is so darn dry) and colored it with Prismacolor pencils and paper stumps dipped in Gamsol, the onesie was stamped on pattern paper from Lili of the Valley (discontinued) and fussy cut, the frame was die cut from the same collection. The sentiment is from a retired SU bundle called "Itty Bitty Banners".

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This is how the INSIDE of my card looks like.

The frame was stamped with another retired SU set called "Four Frames" (2011-2012 catalog), the sentiment is from a Flourishes set called "Hello Baby", the little Teddy Bear is from "Baby Love", both discontinued.

I'm playing along with the following challenges.

CASology

I have a bouncing baby.

 

Cardz 4 Galz Challenge #91.

"Oh Pretty Baby"

If You Give a Crafter a Cookie Challenge #111.

The Crafty Addicts Challenge #57

Inkspirational

Thank you for stopping by, your comments always make my day.

XO
Maria.

A Little Bit of Sage Advice.....

Hi there: Well, today is the last day of February, sheeesh!! it was kind of brutal up here in the Midwest states.  We endured below zero temperatures, sometimes reaching the -50 with the wind chill, brrrr!!  So, I'm ready for Spring, how about you?  I have a card to share that will make you want to plant a little Herb Garden, I know I will give it a try this year, there is nothing like the flavor of fresh herbs.

This delicious and fresh image is from the Power Poppy set called Sage Advice.

I stamped it on a die cut piece of watercolor paper with Versafine black ink, heat embossed it with clear embossing powder and colored it with SU markers and watercolor brushes.  The cardstock and pattern papers, as well as the ribbon, are from my stash, the sentiment from the set.

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This is how the INSIDE of my card looks like.

The sentiment and the herb decoration inside and in front are from the set.

I'm playing along with the following challenges.

The Paper Players, sketch by Ann.

Creative Sketchy Girls Use Ribbon or Lace

Thank you for stopping by, your comments always make my day.

XOf

Maria.

Azaleas.....

Hello everyone: My teammates and I over at RETRO RUBBER, have a new challenge for you to play with and this time, we are joined by the TRY STAMPIN'-OR NOT- ON TUESDAY team who provided this fabulous sketch that has tons of possibilities.  So here's the card I made and I hope it inspires you to come and play along with us in our gallery.

I don't know about you but, I'm sick and tired of Winter. We haven't seen the Sun for days and, if it ventures to take a peek at us down here, it's just for a short while and then, it gets covered by dense, gray clouds and everything looks blah!!
So, I wanted to use this fantastic sketch to get a whiff of Spring colors on this beautiful Azalea image from Power Poppy.
Azaleas come in a rainbow of colors and this time I picked a bright orange/yellow to color mine.
I stamped the image with Stazon black ink and colored it with my Sakura Koi watercolors, I also used some Prismacolor pencils to give some shadows and highlights.  The sentiment is from the set and the ribbons from my stash.

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This is how the INSIDE of my card looks like.

The sentiment is from a retired SU set called "Heard from the Heart" (2008) and the small image on the corner is from the Power Poppy set.

So I hope you come and check out the rest of the team's awesome cards and the TRY STAMPIN' ON TUESDAY sketch over at RETRO RUBBER and join all of us for some fun in our gallery.
Please remember that your stamps MUST be over a year old, we would love it if you could let us know how long you've had them, we want you to give your older stamps a chance to shine again.

Thank you for stopping by, your comments always make my day.
XO
Maria.

February is for Irises.....

Hello everyone: Welcome to another challenge over at SHOPPING OUR STASH.  The theme this time is "Fabulous February" and that means it's all about the beautiful flowers of the month, Violets or Irises and the color Purple, so we hope you find some time to come and play along with us.

This is the card I made to inspire you and I hope you go check out what my teammates created for even more inspiration, we can't wait to see you in our gallery.

This card was created with this image from an old Flourishes set called "Beauty Within" (2010), I love it because it looks like a stain glass window.

I stamped it on a piece of soft lilac-colored card stock with Stazon black ink and colored it with Prismacolor pencils and paper stumps dipped in Gamsol.
The pattern paper is from Lili of the Valley (discontinued), I die cut the corner with a die from Tim Holtz "Alterations"
The sentiment is from the set, I just added a few enamel dots for a bit of bling.

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This is how the INSIDE of my card looks like.

The lace top is from a retired SU set called "Delicate Details", the sentiment and the little Iris on the bottom are from the same set as the image in front but I stamped the words inside a frame from the retired SU set called "Four Frames" that came out back in the 2011-2012 Catalog.

I hope you come and play with my teammates and me at the SHOPPING OUR STASH and the TRY STAMPING ON TUESDAY gallery, we can't wait to see what you create.

Thank you for stopping by, your comments always make my day.

XO

Maria.

Would You Like a Glass?????

Hi there, blogging friends: Well, I know it's still Winter and the temperatures are pretty cold up here in Crown Point, IN. but I can't help dreaming of days with 75 degree temperatures, sunny with a chance of only fabulousness.

And that's why I chose this refreshing, delicious looking image from my totally new, not yet inked stash (bought last year, this year I vowed not to buy more stuff so I can use what I have, which is plenty), this particular stamp set is from Power Poppy and it's called "Tea in the Garden", now.....don't you want to sit on your porch or garden swing, with a couple of good friends, drinking some of this?

I would, hope you do too.

I stamped the images on white card stock with Stazon black ink and colored them with Prismacolor pencils, then I fussy cut them putting some painters tape in the back where the top of the ladle and the little leaves are just so I have a better chance not to rip the paper, I used to put Scotch tape but painters tape is better. I stamped the little mason jar on the white card base because even with the tape, those leaves were not going to withstand all the fussy cutting.

I stamped the little flowers and the sentiment separately.

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This is how the INSIDE of my card looks like.

The flowers on top and bottom are from the same set, the sentiment is from another Power Poppy set called "Foxglove and Ranunculus" 

I'm playing with the following challenges.

CAS(E) this Sketch

As You See It Challenge

When I think of SIMPLE, I think

of just sitting on the garden swing

enjoying a glass of lemonade.

Power Poppy

I love watercoloring but lately, I'm enjoying coloring with my Prismacolors.

Thank you for stopping by, your comments always make my day.

XO

Maria.