Shore Birds

Good Morning, Friends!
It is a beautiful and sunny fall day here; the fall colors are past their prime and can you believe Thanksgiving is less than 3 weeks away!?  Vacations are but a distant memory now.  Mountain hikes and walks along the beach will have to wait until next summer.  But that did not stop me from pulling out this stamp set that I just had to have and yet has never seen ink!

I wanted a lot of texture on this card, so I grunged it up a bit- well, actually grunged it up a lot!  I started with a piece of watercolor paper and spritzed it generously with water, then used a Not Quite Navy ink spot to lay down the water, direct to paper.  I added Crumb Cake direct to paper for the sand and Sage Shadow direct to paper for the sky.  I started moving color around a bit with an aqua painter and then dried the paper.    I used my color spritzer and a Soft Suede marker to add texture to the sand.  So Saffron was sponged in at the sky line and a bit onto the water for the sunset.  Then I spritzed it with water and let the water dry again.  I stamped my birds and then dabbed on some white paint here and there for white caps, sea foam, and glare off the water-whatever your eye wants to see, basically!  :)
I stamped the Of the Grid image in River Rock on Naturals Ivory cs and distressed the edges of this cs.  But that did not seem like enough texture for me, so I grabbed some Tim Holtz Vintage Photo Distress Paint and a piece of burlap.  I dabbed the burlap into a small amount of paint and then dabbed than onto the Naturals Ivory cs.  I did that again with some River Rock ink.
The sentiment is stamped on a piece of So Saffron cs and also received the burlap and medium treatment.  Similarly, I grunged up the canvas by wetting it and dragging it through mediums, drying in between layers. 
While this may be a bit much grunge for some, I really like how it turned out!
I am linking this card up to Seize the Sketch and Seize the Birthday Challenges.

Thanks so much for visiting and have a blessed week!

Lee Ann :)

Products Used-
Stamps- Stampin' Up Wetlands, Espress Yourself, Off the Grid
Paper- watercolor paper, Early Espresso, Naturals Ivory, So Saffron, Sage Shadow
Ink- River Rock, black, Early Espresso, Soft Suede
Other- Canvas, square punch, color spritzer, dimensionals, aqua painter, Tim Holtz Distress Paint in Vintage Photo and Picket Fence

In Need of a Nose!

Hello Everyone!
Welcome to day 2 of our November feature Blog Hops!  

Today we're featuring Diane's sweet new Snowy Hello stamp set.

These snowmen (or women- you decide!) are simply adorable!  I colored my snow woman and bunny with Copics and then fussy cut them out.  I created my snowline in the foreground by tearing a piece of paper as a mask and sponging a bit of gray ink along the edge for shadow and depth.  I then went along the sponged edge with a fine line marker.  I added another fine line further in the distance, along with a hand drawn tree, to complete my scene.  Both images are popped up on dimensionals for even more depth. 

I used a snowflake from the Spectacular Snowflakes set for my background mat, stamping first, second and third generation flakes from top right to bottom left corner to give then a sense of motion.

• Set measures approximately 4" x 6"
• The images range from approximately 1/4" to 2".
• Designed by Diane Zechman
• Stamp set - $15

Check out some of the fabulous samples made by our talented DT in the thumbnails below.

Be sure to leave a comment of each of the blogs along your journey because we're giving away (6) $15 store credits (1 winner will be chosen from each of the 6 blog hops).

The deadline to comment for a chance to win is midnight EST Friday, November 15th.  The list of winners will be announced on our website homepage by Monday, November 18th.

Thanks so much for joining us!  Enjoy the hop!

Lee Ann  :)

Supplies Used-
Stamps- Snowy Hello, Spectacular Snowflakes
Paper- Neenah Solar White, SU Burmuda Bay
Ink- Memento Tuxedo Black, Pool Party, Bermuda Bay, Smokey Slate
Other- Copics, SU Vintage Faceted Button, SU Baker's Twine, bling, Dimensionals

Frame it All

Hello!  Just popping in with of quick post of a card I made for Papertrey Ink's Make it Monday challenge this week. This is my first time participating in a PTI challenge and probably not the best timing on my part as  I do not have too many PTI stamps to choose from and this week's challenge narrowed my options even more.  This week's challenge is to use PTI stamps to make a frame.  I used the Quilled Elegance Stamp Set and came up with this-

I stamped the smaller heart/flourish image on patterned paper, then masked and stamped a thick black line of the image around in a rectangle.  I cut this rectangle out and then stamped the larger flourish/heart image on white cs, placing it along bottom edge of where the patterned paper rectangle would be.  I added a dotted flourish from the Winter Penguin Mini Set and a sentiment from the Wonderful Words-Hello Mini Stamp Set.
The butterflies were stamped on patterned paper and then over stamped in yellows and fussy cut out.  The butterfly on the right was made by folding a butterfly image in half.  I colored pearls black and added them to the butterfly bodies and added gold pearls to the heart flourishes. 
Crazy 4 Challenges also wants us to use a frame this week.  


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

Lee Ann  :)

Supplies used-
Stamps- PTI Quilled Elegance, Winter Penguin Mini Set, Wonderful Words- Hello Stamp Set
Paper- SU Tea for Two dsp, Neenah Solar White cs, SU Island Indigo cs, Prima Meadowlark dp
Ink-Versafine Black, So Saffron, More Mustard, Island Indigo
Other-SU Polka Dot ef, pearls, Black Sharpie, Dimensionals

LOL! Cats!

Hello Friends!

Welcome to day 1 of Sweet 'n Sassy Stamps November feature Blog Hops!  

Today we're featuring Korin's new LOL Cats stamp set! 

This fun new set is not available for purchase...

it's a GIFT WITH PURCHASE for a limited time!

I love this humorous image, which is perfect for a card that says "I messed up, forgive me!".  I wanted a loose, watercolored look, so I lightly drew the image in pencil, then used Inktense Watercolor Pencils to pencil in some color and an aqua painter to wet and move the color around.  I intentionally did not stay in the lines of the image. I then stamped the image with Versafine Black ink and added more color with the pencils where needed. 

I used a piece of drywall tape and an Inktense pencil to create the checkered 'wallpaper', drew in a floor line and lightly colored the floor with an Inktense pencil as well.

  

  

• Stamp set includes 5 images and 26 mix and match sentiments
• Set measures approximately 6" x 8"
• The cat images range from approximately 1 1/4"-2 1/2" wide
• Designed by Korin Sutherland
• Stamp set - $26 value

Check out some of the fabulous samples made by our talented DT in the thumbnails below.

Be sure to leave a comment on each of the blogs along your journey because we're giving away (6) $15 store credits (1 winner will be chosen from each of the 6 blog hops).

The deadline to comment for a chance to win is midnight EST Friday, November 15th.  The list of winners will be announced on our website homepage by Monday, November 18th.

Thanks so much for joining us!  Enjoy the hop!

Lee Ann  :)

Supplies used-

Stamps- Sweet 'n Sassy Stamps LOL Cats!
Paper- Neenah Solar White, SU Pumpkin Pie, Authentique dp
Ink- Versafine Black
Other- Inktense Watercolor Pencils, Aqua Painter, Micron Pigment Pen, SU white baker's twine, SU chevron ef, brads, orange crocheted lace

A Northwoods Christmas

Hello and Happy Weekend Everyone!

Well, it is November, and for me that means the holiday season kicks into high gear!  I love this time of year, both Thanksgiving and Christmas.  Sweet Audrie at SCS asked me to join her this week for the Inspiration Challenge, so that gave me the perfect opportunity to peruse the web for the perfect Christmas inspiration.
I settled on a wonderful Pinterest Board by Laurel Seabrook, a Design Team team mate with a wonderful eye for color and style.

I used my brand new Sweet 'n Sassy Snowflake dies to anchor the foliage.  I added some holly from the SNSS Christmas Silhouettes set as well.  I sponged the edges of the mitten and the snowflake dies with distress ink and used embroidery floss to add a blanket stitch around the mitten.

Thanks so much for stopping by and hope you have a little time to check out the Inspiration Challenge this week!

Blessings!

Lee Ann  :)

Supplies Used-

Stamps- Sweet 'n Sassy Stamps- Christmas Silhouettes, Vintage Ornaments
Paper- SU Crumb Cake, Whisper White, Old Olive, Chocolate Chip, Silver Glitter cs
Ink- Always Artichoke, Old Olive, Van Dyke Brown, Versafine Black
Other- Sweet 'n Sassy Stamps Small and Large Snowflake dies, SNSS Christmas Silhouette dies, re embroidery floss, Martha Stewart branch punch, Verve sprig die, Memory Box branch die, crocheted lace, brads, baker's twine, thread of burlap, Martha Stewart's course glitter

Sweet 'n Sassy Snowy Sneak Peek!

Hello Friends!

Today I have a card to share using the VERY soon to be released stamps from Sweet 'n Sassy Stamps.  Check out the Release Party Thursday evening in the SCS Sweet 'n Sassy Stamps Forum for challenges and a chance to win a new set!

I have used two new sets here, Winter Girls and Spectacular Snowflakes. The sentiment is from an oldie but goodie, Christmas Joy.  This was so much fun to make- the snowflakes stamp beautifully and the sweet girl was so fun to color!  I used a sketch from CAS(E) This Sketch and the colors are from the Dynamic Duos challenge and am entering the card in both challenges, as well as the Merry Monday Challenge.

 This cutie was colored with Copics and fussy cut out.  The snowflakes were die cut out with the matching snowflake dies and then popped up on dimensionals.I added a little bit of bling and some stitching to finish it off!
Thanks so much for stopping by!
Have a blessed week!

Lee Ann  :)

Supplies Used-
Stamps-Sweet 'n Sassy Stamps- Tender Thoughts, Winter Girls, and Christmas Joy
Paper-Neenah Solar White, Teresa Collins Santa's List dp
Ink-Memento Tuxedo Black ink, SU Burmuda Bay
Other- Copics, sewing machine, dimensionals, bling, snss matching snowflake dies, MFT Fishtail Flag Stax Die-Namics

A Wintry Window and a Sneak Peek!

Hello Friends!

This week, Sweet 'n Sassy Stamps will be releasing some wonderful new stamps and today 's card offers you a sneak peak at two of those sets!

I started with sponging some Sage Shadow ink onto white cardstock,  then stamped the birch tree image in Versamark and embossed with white ep.  Detailing was added to the trees with an Early Espresso marker.  I die cut a window in white cs and then a window one size larger in Naturals Ivory cs. To add to the outdoorsy, forest theme, I colored this panel to resemble knotty pine, like that used in a cabin. I sponged Soft Suede ink to the ivory panel using a woodgrain mask.  Then I sponged Van Dyke brown ink over the entire ivory panel and adhered this panel to the white panel.  

A piece of clear cardstock was adhered to the back of the white window and then dimensional adhesive was added to the entire edge of the window opening.  A die cut deer and 'snow' were added to the window opening and then the birch tree background was adhered to the dimensional adhesive. 

The pine boughs and  pine cones were stamped from the cardinal image in the Christmas Joy set, watercolored and then fussy cut out and adhered to the top corner of the window frame. 

The sentiment is stamped on a piece of dp,  and linen thread and a button embellish the panel.  The panel is popped up on dimensionals.

And there you have it- a snowy, nature themed card!  This is such a versatile set; it can be used for Christmas cards, general winter themed cards, masculine cards, vacation/camping scrapbook pages, and, as the set was designed with sympathy sentiments, sympathy cards.  Now as I tend to be a outdoor kind of girl, who likes all thinks nature, hiking, camping and travel, this set will get a lot of use!

Thanks so much for visiting and have a blessed week!

Lee Ann  :)

Products Used-

Stamps- Sweet 'n Sassy Stamps Tender Thoughts, Christmas Joy, Winter Girls

Paper-  Stampin' Up Naturals Ivory, Sage Shadow, Copics Ex-Press It Blending cs, Heartfelt Creations Clear Cardstock, Teresa Collins dp-Santa's List

Ink-Sage Shadow, Versamark, Soft Suede, VanDyke Brown, Always Artichoke, Versafine Black, Stazon Brown

Other- Stampin' Up Window Framelits, SU Early Espresso and Old Olive markers, Stampendous Crystal Snow, white ep, Sweet n Sassy Stamps matching dies, SU linen thread, SU faux wood button, Frosted Lace Stickles, The Crafter's Workshop mask, SU dimensionals