Sweet(tea}

I love this darling image, Clementine the Teapot Girl, available at Stamping Bella, sponsor of this month's Sketch For You To Try. I adore anything with a teapot; add that sweet little girl with her precious pigtails and I'm a goner! Clementine is colored with Copic markers to coordinate with the Crate Paper Emma's Shoppe papers I chose. The letters on the sentiment banner were stamped with some old mini foam stamps from my stash. The layout is this month's Sketch For You To Try ...

To play along, just use the sketch, upload to your blog or an online gallery, and link up to Jen's June SFYTT post before the end of the month! Looking forward to checking out all the beautiful entries!

Here's a closer look at the coloring. I really need some help with pinks -- they never seem to come out quite like I want!

Keeping it short today ... fighting off some kind of bug (thinking maybe my youngest gifted me with his strep throat -- thanks, buddy!) and trying to deal with the bomb known as Last Day of School that went off in my house yesterday afternoon. How about you ladies? If you have schoool-age kids, are they out now? Anyone in a school district with year-round school?

Love to all!

June SFYTT - Maisy Ketto

Any ideas how it got to be June already? Eeek, what happened to May? And April, too, for that matter? The good news with it being June already is that it's time for a brand-new Sketch For You To Try! This month, our sponsor is Stamping Bella! I'm super excited because on my mental list of images I wish I had more time to stamp with, my Bellas would be at or very near the top!

I've used Maisy Ketto for today's card. Coloring is with Copic markers, finished with Prismacolor pencils. The papers are from Cosmo Cricket's Salt Air. The cardstock die-cut flowers and butterfly are also from CC. I tucked in a Verve sentiment (from Fairy Tales), which I die-cut using Li'l Inker's fabulous little Sentiment Flags die. Perimeter stitching is all by hand using both taupe and ivory threads. The string along the bottom is just some basic household string.

Here's the sektch:

The SFYTT sisters have been busy making gorgeous sketch samples. Click around and you'll see what I mean! Be sure to give Joanne Basile a warm welcome -- she's our June guest designer!!


Jen del Muro with guest designer Joanne Basile
Amber Hight
Carole Burrage
Jen Tapler
Jodi Collins
Kelly Lunceford
Kerry Johnson
Megan Lock (coming later)
Susan Liles
Terri Moore

We bid a fond (and hopefully temporary) farewell to Sony Christoph  this week. She's stepping down due to her current course load, which sounds positively monstrous. Good luck and hang in there, Sony!

To play along with the June SFYTT, just make a card or other project using the sketch and link it up HERE anytime before the end of the month. Those who participate in all of the 2011 sketch challenges will be eligible for a mega prize drawing at the end of the year. And remember, all future guest designers are chosen from current participants!

Cheers!




Stamps: Maisy Ketto (Stamping Bella)
Paper: Papertrey Kraft and Vintage Cream, Copic XPress-It blending card stock, Cosmo Cricket Salt Air
Ink: Memento Tuxedo Black, Vintage Photo Distress Ink, Versamagic Thatched Straw
Accessories: Spellbinders circle, lacey circles, and Labels Sixteen Nestabiltiies, Stampin' Up corner rounder, paper piercer, needle, thread, foam adhesive, Li'l Inker Designs Sentiment Flag die, Cosmo Cricket Salt Air cardstock die-cuts, Papertrey button, household string
Size: 4 1/4" x 5 1/2"

Here I Come A-Wassailing

My new "Wassail" Basic Grey paper pack has arrived, and I love it even more than I thought I would! (Thank you, Michelle, at Stamper's Dream, for the super fast shipping, as always.)

This is my sample for Jen's Sketch For You To Try - another fun one (how DOES she do it?)! As always, you'll find the sketch, Jen's sample, and guest designer Nancy Riley's sample at i{heart}2stamp. More inspiration awaits over at Amy's, Carole's, Shannan's, and Susan's blogs. We hope you'll play along, too. If you upload to SCS, remember to use keyword: SFYTT.

The image, Wreathabella, is colored with Copic markers. I added a little liquid applique to the fuzzy parts. The "Joy" chipboard is by Scrapworks and came already red and glittery (in a box with a bunch of other glittery Christmas chipboard, too).

One thing I learned while coloring this image is that I need more red Copics! I have a bright pinkish red and then two really deep, dark reds, but a huge gap in the middle. It so happens that just the other day, while ordering some ribbon and brads from Heidi at Pink Hedgehog Paper Crafts, I saw that she's doing a Copic pre-order right now. I also saw five of my favorite words: "Prices too low to advertise." LOL! If you're in the market for some Copics, anything from a few singles to full sets, you may want to pay her a visit. And check out her ribbon, brads, and other embellishments, too.

While I had my Wassail paper pack out, I thought I'd whip up a little something for this week's challenge at Our Creative Corner. Lynda Benden, our October host, has challenged us to create a gift item. Check out the blog for wonderful samples by the rest of the OCC team,Cindy Haffner,
Dawn Easton, Denise Marzec, Jennifer Meyer, Julee Tilman, Laurie Schmidlin and Lynda Benden. You'll also see amazing projects from guest designer Lindsey Botkin of Jacksonbelle Embellishments, as well as a fabulous giveaway. We'd love for you to play along!

Here's my project - a Christmas countdown calendar:



I made something similar last year, but wanted to do a "new and improved" version. The calendar is made from two 4" coasters held together with some spiral binding that I pilfered from an old Stampin' Up catalog that Staples once bound for me. I used a Crop-A-Dile to punch the holes. The numbers, as well as all the words, were created with the Brayton Font Ensemble from JustRite Stampers. Have I mentioned before how much I LOVE the JustRite products?!

Note: Now that I'm looking at this on screen, it seems so obvious to me that the "until Christmas" should have started on the bottom of the circle instead of the top. Visually, you'd read "days" first and then "until Christmas." This way is confusing, I think? Your eye wants to read "until" before "days." It'll probably bug me enough that I'll change it, but for now, you get the idea! [UPDATE: I tried it the other way, and surprise, it did not look good! So it's staying this way :)]

To make the calendar a little more stable (i.e., to make sure it doesn't fall down), I added a little crosspiece to the inside. It's a strip of card stock, approximately 2 1/2" x 1/2", scored 1/2" in on both sides to make two flaps. One flap is adhered to the back coaster. The other "flap" slips behind the ribbon that's tied around the front coaster. The end that tucks behind the ribbon is not secured with any adhesive, so you can fold this flat again for storage. Pictures might help you make sense of my babble:



Have you noticed how often I use Cranberry Crisp card stock? And ribbon, too, for that matter? Whatever am I going to do when I run out?!

Thanks for stopping by, and I hope you have a wonderful weekend!




Wreathabella:
Stamps: Wreathabella (Stamping Bella)
Paper: Always Artichoke, Cranberry Crisp (retired), Whisper White card stock (SU); Stamper's Select White (Papertrey); Wassail dp (Basic Grey)
Ink: Brilliance Graphite Black; Always Artichoke, Cranberry Crisp
Accessories: Copic markers, liquid applique, "Joy" chipboard (ShimmerShapes Holiday Cheer Assortment by Scrapworks), paper piercer, Martha Stewart lace punch, Cranberry Crisp stitched ribbon (SU)
Size: 5 1/4" square

Christmas Countdown Calendar:
Stamps: JustRite circle stamper, Brayton Font Ensemble (JustRite)
Paper: Mellow Moss, Always Artichoke, Cranberry Crisp, White Naturals card stock (SU!); Wassail dp (Basic Grey)
Ink: Always Artichoke craft, Always Artichoke marker
Accessories: Harmony Classic Circle Stamper I (JustRite Stampers), Crop-A-Dile, Staples binding, 4" coaster, vintage brads, 1/4" circle punch, classic and scalloped Nestabilities, paper piercer, scallop border punch, Cranberry Crisp stitched ribbon

Gardenia Greenthumb Gets Ready For Fall

Jen del Muro has a super fun "Sketch for You to Try" this week! Head to i{heart}2stamp to see it, plus her sample and a sample by the NEW guest designer (wonder who it is?!). More inspiration awaits from Amy, Carole, Shannan, and Susan. We'd love to have you play along! If you upload to SCS, use keyword: SFYTT.

I wanted to try Gardenia Greenthumb (Stamping Bella) in fall colors - I kind of like her! Those could be mums she's planting. Some B-I-G mums, LOL! I have to say I'm totally trying to imitate Paula Williamson's amazing coloring style using Prismacolors and Gamsol. I first saw her work back in the Spring, shortly after she'd won a Verve guest designer contest. I've been dropping in on her ever since - she blows me away!! Paula, if you see this - thanks for the inspiration! I WISH I could color like you can! I used the paper tole technique and raised up some portions of the image. The dp is from the Dill Blossom collection by SEI.

FYI, my sample for this week's challenge at Our Creative Corner is HERE. Also, I have a fun blog candy game ending tomorrow morning (Sunday). Details on THIS POST.

Thanks for stopping by, and I hope you have a wonderful weekend!



Stamps: Gardenia Greenthumb (Stamping Bella)
Paper: Papertrey white; Chocolate Chip, Really Rust (SU!); "Dill Blossom" collection (SEI)
Ink: Memento Tuxedo Black
Accessories: Prismacolors and Gamsol; dimensionals, 1/4" circle punch, Vintage Brads, paper piercer, scalloped border punch, Kiwi Kiss double-striped ribbon (SU!)

Little Elphaba

I'm finally getting around to posting my sample for this week's Sketch for You To Try. This week, all of us sample-makers have used holiday-themed Bellas - so much fun! Be sure to pay a visit to Jen at i{heart}2stamp, where you'll find loads of goodies ... the sketch, Jen's sample, and guest designer Suzanne Dean's sample. You'll also see that everyone who joins us in using Bella stamps gets entered for a chance to win a $15 gift certificate to the Bella site, courtesy of Emily. You don't neccessarily have to use holiday Bellas - any Bella will get you entered! Check out the awesome samples from Amy, Carole, Shannan and Susan too!

This darling little witch captured my heart the first time I saw her. Isn't she just the sweetest little thing? I colored her with Copic markers, then tried to add a green glow around her with an aqua painter and celery ink. (I thought this card by Leslie Miller of Running with Scissors was the absolute BOMB, so that's where I drew inspiration for the green glow.) Copics and watercolor together? Yes, and if I recall Marianne's instructions, you do the Copic coloring first and then the watercoloring. The only problem I had was with paper choice. You don't want to use watercolor paper with Copics, but ideally, you do want it for watercoloring. I colored over the black mat with a black Spica and added some Gunmetal Stickles to the witch's hair for some sparkle. I also gave her green skin after my favorite witch of all, Elphaba of Wicked :D

Thanks for visiting!

Stamps: Little Witchy (Bella Stamps)

Paper: Perfect Plum, Certainly Celery, Basic Black (SU!); Stamper's Select White (Papertrey); dp (Imaginisce)

Ink: Brilliance Graphite Black, Certainly Celery

Accessories: Copic markers, Gunmetal Stickles, black Spica, paper piercer, ribbon and brads (source unknown - they came out of a Paper Wishes Personal Shopper monthly kit two years ago), green paper flower (Prima)

SFYTT and OCC

Is it just me or do those intials sound more like some kind of international trade treaty and a psychiatric diagnosis than stamping lingo? Rest assured, you're at the right blog, and this fine Saturday, it's all about a pair of sketch challenges.

First up is my weekly sample for Jen's Sketch for You to Try (SFYTT) challenge:



This week's sketch was a bit of a toughie for me, and consequently, I believe I bent the sketch to suit (but just a wee bit). So for sure you'll want to go to i{heart}2stamp to see the sketch and two proper samples from Jen and guest designer Dawn Easton. And you won't want to miss Carole's, Shannan's, and Susan's samples either. If you upload to SCS, remember to use keyword SFYTT. We'd love for you to play along!

I thought the sketch would be perfect for my new Lily - My Little Friend image by Rachelle Anne Miller for Stampavie, which I acquired thanks to some serious enabling by Shannan, Julee, Jessie, and Jen (thanks girls!). Seriously, the Stampavie images are just SO cute!!! All of my coloring is done with an aqua painter and reinkers. I added some sparkle to some areas with a Sakura Stardust pen.

Second, today is the official start of the new Our Creative Corner challenge blog. Yay!!! The amazing Cindy Haffner is hosting this month, and she's kicking things off with a sketch challenge. Be sure to head over there this morning to see the sketch and samples from all the OCC designers. You're gonna LOVE what you see! We all hope you'll play along with us (all the how-to is on the OCC blog)!! This is my take:



For this one, I used Wendy Papillon by Stamping Bella and colored her with a mixture of Copics and reinkers. The sparkly wings are done with Frosted Lace Stickles. For both cards, I used sentiments from Verve's Thoughtful Florals set. When your card is "full" already, these sentiments are the perfect size to tuck behind your image kind of like file folder tabs. I LOVE them!!



Stampavie SFYTT:
Stamps: Lily - My Little Friend (Stampavie); Thoughtful Florals (Verve Visual)
Paper: Whisper White, Tempting Turquoise, Basic Black (SU!); watercolor paper; dp (Pink Paislee); pink textured card stock (source unknown)
Ink: Versafine Onyx Black (Tsukineko); Close to Cocoa, Pink Passion, Tempting Turquoise, Pumpkin Pie, Barely Banana, Going Gray, Blush Blossom reinkers (SU!)
Accessories: paper flowers (Prima); pink rik-rak (Fancy Pants); Stardust Stickles (Ranger); Stardust glitter pen (Sakura); aqua painter, paper piercer, and Green Galore buttons (SU!); sewing machine


Bella OCC:
Stamps: Wendy Papillon (Stamping Bella); Thoughtful Florals (Verve Visual)
Paper: Real Red (SU!); Stamper's Select White (Papertrey); dp (Bohemia/My Mind's Eye)
Ink: Versafine Onyx Black (Tsukineko); Soft Sky reinker
Accessories: Copic markers; paper flowers (Prima); Frosted Lace Stickles (Ranger); red brad (Close to My Heart); aqua painter, paper piercer, wide red grosgrain ribbon, corner rounder, key tag punch, dimensionals (SU!)

Welcome Baby Buttercup

Another Saturday brings another "Sketch for You to Try" by Jen del Muro. Jen added a fun twist this week -- we all used Bella stamps (not necessarily Bella herself, but images from any of the Stamping Bella lines). I used this darling Baby Buttercup from the Chichiboulie line, which, lucky for me, I had just picked up (along with a few others) last weekend while I was taking my Copic marker class. My first Bellas! And somehow this feels like only the first date in a hot, inky love affair to come!

Jen has the sketch, her Bella sample, and guest designer Toni Whitnell's sample at i{heart}2stamp. Don't you wonder which Bellas Carole, Shannan, and Susan chose? When you're ready to play, remember to use keyword SFYTT if you upload to SCS. (Please don't feel obligated to use a Bella -- of course you can if you want, but it's not a requirement!)

I did my coloring with Copic markers. I do really like them, but I need a lot more practice (and a lot more colors)! I added a second layer of a few of the petals and both leaves for a little dimension. The edges of the petals and leaves are all outlined with a Sakura Stardust pen, which you can see in this detail shot:



Note: Please pardon the smudges on my card (if you can see them). I overslept this morning, and awoke to find that my 1- and 4-year-olds got a hold of it. I don't know who did more damage - the baby or the 4-year-old trying to "rescue" the card.

Happy Saturday to all!



Stamps: Baby Buttercup (Stamping Bella); Stitched and Warm Words (SU!)
Paper: Basic Black, Certainly Celery, Regal Rose (SU!); Papertrey's White
Ink: Memento Tuxedo Black (Tsukineko); White craft (SU!)
Accessories: Copic Markers, Sakura Stardust pen, classic and scalloped rectangle Nestabilities, dimensionals, large oval punch, Swiss Dots cuttlebug folder, scalloped scissors, black satin ribbon, 1/2" circle punch, buttons
Size: 5 1/4" square