Colors and a Sketch

Hey All!

Trying to get some MOJO back; funny how it just vanishes one day, doesn't say where it is going and when it will be back.  :(
When that happens, I can always count on coloring!  :)
I joined a few challenges, using one of my fave Unity Girl images~

My sketch is from Viva La Verve~

And colors are from this week's Can You CASE it?

The card base was sponged with peach ink, the spritzed with some Heidi Swap Color Shine over a Prima stencil.  The image is colored with Copics then fussy cut out.

I am also linking up to Time Out Challenges, 'Celebration' with the twist of die-cutting. The card is for my niece, as she is graduating from high school. 

Feeling Sheepish!

Hi Everyone!

I am not believing that it is the last Wednesday of April already!  Wow!  Time is flying and there is much to be done before the school year is out.  Still have to sneak in time to craft though, inbetween the yard work, house work and the annual spring garage sale.

I pulled out a Christmas stamp set for this week's SugarSketch~

Yep, I did say Christmas stamp set.  I used the darling Lost Without You Stamp Set, stamping the sheep several times and fussy cutting out body parts, LOL!  I also stamped onto designer paper and paper pieced the bodies.  The card base was sponged with Hello Honey ink over a stencil.  I got the inspiration for this background from the Verve Diva Inspiration photo this month.
I used some distress ink to paint the sheep's background.  I added a heart to blend into the pink mat. It was die cut using the Heart Journal Card Die Cut.
The talented team has oodles of inspiration for you~
Claire Broadwater Deanne Kay
Jeanne Jachna
Karren Johnson
Laura Jane

Lee Ann Barrett

Lesley Croghan

Mackie Robertson
Kerin Sylvester

 

We would love for you to join us; remember, the more you play, the more chances you have of winning a $75 gift certificate to the SugarPea Designs store!  See the blog for details and rules.  

I am linking up to Diva Inspirations Challenge

as well as the Tuesday Throwdown, 'Anything Goes' and 

Addicted to Stamps and More- 'Anything Goes'.  

Thanks so much for stopping by!  

Lee Ann  :)

Hola! It's Time for a New SugarSketch!

Hello and Welcome to another Wednesday SugarPea Designs SugarSketch!  

Keeping this week's card very CAS-

I am drawn to this adorable cactus in the Let's Fiesta Stamp Set.  Maybe it is because I have a trip to the Southwest planned for June, LOL!  I am hoping to see some of these guys irl!  :)
Here is your sketch~

 There is something beautiful about cacti, especially when you are from the midwest.  And there is something about Arizona sunsets, which I have been seeing a lot of lately on Facebook.  So, I decided to combine the two and paint a desert sunset.
My cactus is from the Let's Fiesta Stamp Set and the tiny heart die cut is cut with the Heart Journal Card Dies. I colored my scene on watercolor paper using Distress Inks.
The team has some more fabulous inspiration for you~

Claire Broadwater

Deanne Kay
Jeanne Jachna
Karren Johnson
Laura Jane

Lee Ann Barrett

Lesley Croghan

Mackie Robertson
Kerin Sylvester 

You can link up your creation HERE!  Remember, the more times you join us during the month, the more chances you have of winning a $75 gift certificate to the SPD store!  See BLOG for details and rules. 

Thanks so much for stopping by and have a blessed week!

Lee Ann :)

A Little Inspiration with The Challenge!

Good Morning and Happy Monday All!

Today's inspiration photo at The Challenge is just chock full of, well, inspiration!
Sadly, my brain was not so full of MOJO.  I could not get past the big red heart, LOL!  So, I had to step away from it and go with something completely different.  I chose to try the Bargello technique, having been inspired by the quilted strips~

You can find this technique HERE. 
Here is the inspiration photo (yes, VERY different from what I ended up doing! )

I hope you can see how I was inspired by the fabric strips.  I think as I used to make quilt tops, I was especially inspired by this technique.
I used a MFT Blue Prints Die set for the large mat die, a MFT Layered Leaves Die, and the set I was just itching to get, the Simon Says Stamp/Hero Arts Prayers Stamp and Die Set.

I was inspired by the sketch at Sketch Saturday~

Ready for more inspiration?  Check out what the rest of the design team has for you!

Anita Madden
Broni Holcombe
Claire Broadwater
Diane Jaquay
Jinny Newlin

Kim Heggins

Kimberly Wiener
Laurel Seabrook

Lori Tecler

Nance Salkeld

Nina Forsyth

Rachel Bergfeld

When you have created your card, you can link it up HERE at The Challenge!

Thanks for stopping by and have a blessed week!

Lee Ann  :)

Guesting with Stampin' Celebration!

Happy Monday Everyone!

I was thrilled to be asked to be a guest designer for Stampin' Celebration.  The Challenge this week is a sketch~

Here is the FABBY sketch~

Let me start off by saying that this card was totally not my idea!  I was inspired by the oh so talented Jill Avery Foster. She is a master with watercoloring and sponging.  She is the inspiration for this card.  

I stamped the large butterfly in Distress ink on watercolor paper and then colored with distress ink; the butterfly stamps are from Sweet 'n Sassy Stamps.  I was planning on partial diecutting it, but I got excited and diecut the whole thing out. [sigh].  

The background is also stamped with Distress ink and then colored with Distress ink as well.  Lovely blending happens when you do this.  I REALLY LOVE the effect!

The narrow panel is watercolored with distress ink and then lightly spattered with watered down distress ink, as is the background panel.  And don't you just love the texture that cheese cloth adds?!  

I wanted to keep the sentiment subtle so the butterfly stayed the focal point.  The sentiment was die cut from vellum using a SugarPea Designs Thanks Die and then I heat embossed the sentiment with UTEE.  I also sprinkled a bit of UTEE on the butterfly to add a bit of texture. 

  A few SSS sequins finish it off.  

I hope you can join us and link up your fab creation HERE!

I am linking up to Simon Says Stamp Monday Challenge- 'Butterfly Beauty'.  

Thanks so much for stopping by and have a blessed week!  

Lee Ann  :)

Surprise! Cacti and Cupcakes!

Hello All!

I was pleasantly surprised to be asked to guest at the Cupcakes Inspiration blog.  I am thrilled to be a Surprise Sweetie!  This week is a color challenge, PERFECT for all things spring, as in FLOWERS!

The colors are~

Just gorgeous inspiration!

I used a stunning image from Impression Obsession, Prickly Pear, designed by my friend, Dina Kowal.  She is such a talent; you can see here work HERE.  I truly cannot do this image justice, but I could not resist it and gave it my best shot.  I used my Peerless Watercolors to color it after stamping the image in clear embossing powder.
The sentiment is from PTI.
As this card is for a special friend, I will be linking up to Virginia's Link Up Party!

I am also linking up to Simon Say's Stamp's Monday Challenge-'April Showers, May Flowers'.

Thanks so much for stopping by and hope you can join the girls at Cupcake Inspirations!


Lee Ann  :)

I {Heart} SugarPea Designs!

Hi Everyone!


It is Wednesday and time for a new sketch at SugarPea Designs!  Have you been following all of the sneak peeks for the new release?  I can tell you that it is simply Ah-MAZING!  I will be emptying my piggy bank for this one!
Anywho, back to the new sketch~

Hope you wore your sunglasses, LOL!
Here is the sketch~

 This sketch came together quickly; it was just a matter of placing all of the parts.  Gotta love a versatile sketch!
I started with the SugarCuts Home Sweet Home Die- die cut a piece of watercolor paper and then added Zig Watercolor markers to color.
For the circle, I adhered hearts from the SugarCuts Heart Journal Card around the circumference.  I just love the sweet heart variations in this particular die set.
The background was created with Colorburst Watercolor Powders (this is where the sunglasses come in, LOL).
After I added the black panel, I felt the card was missing something, so added a row of black hearts to edge the black panel.  I simply love how this turned out!  And yes, those are my favorite sequins, SSS, embellishing the hearts.
The white card base is die cut with - you guessed it- a Zig Zag Stitched Rectangle Die.
OH, I cannot forget the rest of the sentiment- it is from the sweet little set, Sweet Sentiments-Home.
With all of the die cuts I have used, I am linking up to the Tuesday Throwdown Challenge, 'Die Cuts'.

Ready for some amazing inspiration from the dynamo team?

Claire Broadwater
Deanne Kay
Jeanne Jachna
Karren Johnson
Laura Jane

Lee Ann Barrett

Lesley Croghan

Mackie Robertson
Kerin Sylvester 
And don't forget, we have the incredible, Kim Weiner with us this month!  

Can't wait to see you in the gallery!  Remember, the more you play, the more chances you have of winning!  Check out the SugarPea Designs Blog for link up and all of the details and rules!  

Thanks for stopping by and have a blessed week!  

Lee Ann  :)

Back with The Challenge!

Hi everyone!
I am happy to say that I am back over at The Challenge, one of the many challenges created by Lesley Croghan.  This  week's challenge is all about color!

If you are thinking this is not a card, you are right!  This is my first attempt at a mixed media canvas- you have to start somewhere!

I had the image, which is a Donna Downey image from Unity, already colored.  It is such a large image that I felt it required a canvas.  When I saw the colors for The Challenge, they seemed perfect for this stamp, 'Eva'.

The Talented Design Team has lots of fabulous inspiration for you!

Anita Madden
Broni Holcombe
Claire Broadwater
Diane Jaquay
Jinny Newlin

Kim Heggins

Kimberly Wiener
Laurel Seabrook

Lori Tecler

Nance Salkeld

Nina Forsyth

Rachel Bergfeld

Hope you can join us this week!  You can link up your creation HERE!


I am linking up to Happy Little Stampers Mixed Media Challenge- 'Wings',
And the Mod Squad Challenge-'Make Your Own Background'. 

Have a blessed week!

Lee Ann  :)

Sunday Fun

Hi Everyone!

Hope you are having a refreshing weekend.  I worked my tail off in the yard this weekend (wish I could say that literally, but unfortunately not!).  Sat down last night to finish a card that had become a nightmare.  It has been in the works for about a week now and has been redone, pulled apart, repainted, recut, re-everything!
Finally put it together and this is what I got~

This is one of my all time favorite images and sadly, I think this series has been discontinued.  It is from Lil Inkers.  I colored him with Copics.  It started out die cut using the outside the box technique.  But when I accidently stamped the circle while stamping the sentiment, I had to fussy cut it out.
I used Lawn Fawn Stitched Edge Dies for the border.  The first time (yes, that was redone too) I decided after the fact to add the stitching and tried to do it after the panel was adhered to the card base.  Let me just say, do NOT do that!  Unless you are interested in starting over! :)
I love raindrops, which are my fave sequins from SSS.
I used the sketch from MOJO Monday~

And the Inspiration Board from Butterfly Reflections Ink~

I am a sucker for yellow and gray.  Pink is in the child's cheeks.  :)  I did not add the green.  Hope that is OK!

Thanks so much for stopping by!

Lee Ann  :) 

Bold and Bright for Fusion

Hi Everyone! 

I could not resist the challenge over at Fusion this week.  Gorgeous inspiration photo, and I had just the stamp for it, one that had not yet seen ink. 

I used both the inspiration and the sketch~

My background, while it looks like watercolor, is actually Copic marker stamped.  I used an oldie but goodie background stamp from SU, colored it with a BG Copic and then spritzed it with alcohol and stamped.  Love how it turned out!  The orchid is from Clearly Besotted.  Yes, I was crazy enough to fussy cut it out.  I was not planning on it originally, but when my first crafty idea was not panning out, I went on to plan B.  :) 
A bit of cheesecloth was added behind the orchid for texture and interest and I had to go with the wonderfully bold white on black sentiment again. 
I am also linking up to Addicted to Stamps and More, 'Holiday',
and MarkerPop's challenge, 'Spring',
and CAS on Sunday-'flowers' 

Thanks so much for visiting! 

Lee Ann  :)

SugarPea Sketch and Spring Friends!

Hi Everyone!
Happy Wednesday!  We are really enjoying the spring weather here, complete with yard work, LOL!  So many trees are blooming and everything is greening up.  I love this time of year!
My card for today's sketch is a little bit of spring~

 This is the first sketch for April~

The sketch was perfect for this sweet image.  The image is from the What's Mew? Stamp Set.  It is colored with Copics and fussy cut out.  As usual, I used the Zig Zag Stitched Rectangle Dies to die cut my mats.  The window scene is popped up on dimensionals.  I added color to the card on the card base, sponging on some orange and deep pink inks; then spattered the sponged area with water and spritzed it with Mr. Huey's Calico White spritz.
To mimic the curve of the window, I added a bit of doily.  I wasn't quite happy with the end result, so decided to emboss the base panel with a polka dot embossing folder.  My go-to SSS sequins finish off the card.
Ready for some more inspiration?  Check out the Design Team's gorgeous work.  AND...We have Kim Wiener guesting with us this month!

Kim Wiener
 Claire Broadwater
 Deanne Kay
Jeanne Jachna
Karren Johnson
Laura Jane

Lee Ann Barrett

Lesley Croghan

Mackie Robertson
Kerin Sylvester

Along with the new month comes a new chance at a prize of $75 to the SugarPea Designs store!

Check out the blog HERE for all of the details and rules and then link up your card!  

I used the color combo from this week's Colour Q Challenge~

I am also linking up to MarkerPop's Challenge, 'Spring'. 
Tuesday Throwdown's challenge is 'Furry Friends'- exactly what this sweet kittie is!  

Thanks so much for stopping by!  

Have a blessed week!

Lee Ann  :)

A Couple of Challenges

Hi Everyone!

Hope you are having a fantastic Sunday!  It is just gorgeous here in St Louis; spent a lot of time outside doing yard work this weekend.  But, I destressed from the week on Friday night with lots of crafting.

I wanted to join in at Happy Little Stampers with the new Case the Designer challenge this month.  This month, they are casing Joyce Mehrberg.  This is her card, to be cased~

I decided to use the colors at Colour Q~

 I had to do a little blending with my Copic markers to try to get the colors in the Colour Q challenge, so the colors are not quite what I wanted them to be.
The image is from Heartfelt Creations and the sentiment is Verve. 
I am also linking up to Simon Says Stamp Wednesday Challenge, Anything Goes.

Thanks so much for stopping by!

Have a blessed week!

Lee Ann  :)