Happy Birthday & BugaBoo ~ PIP Challenge 1750

Merry Christmas Season everyone!!  🎄 I am excited for all the Christmas celebrations as well as the prospect of a whole new year!!

This will be my last PIP Challenge for 2017 and I think it is such a fun one!!! Bugaboo Stamps is our sponsor this week so if you'd like a fun prize from them go to Pammies Inky Pinkys Challenges to post your card for your chance to be this weeks winner!!  

I love this sweet image ~ Birthday Puppies ~ it is so full of celebration, I think it would be a great New Year's Card, or any celebration!! Like New Baby, Graduation, New Job etc !! Check it out because 2 other fun puppy images are included in this set!

My inspiration was my package of gel pens!!  I printed the puppy image and fussy cut it, laying it on the marker set I planned to use.  Then I liked it so much I decided to mimic the look on the card!!


I did add a little shading to the puppy to give it some dimension, but otherwise I left it white. 
After cutting each strip of colored paper I used a border stamp from Stampin' Up! "Mosaic Madness" to accent the center of each strip for a monochromatic look.

I will let you in on a little secret . . . . I had every intention of making this a Happy New Year card!!  When my creative madness was satiated I looked up saw and it said birthday!!!!  {I must need a birthday card soon & didn't know it!!} Maybe I was thinking of Jesus!! We're celebrating his birth big time in my house right now!!


The little banner was made with a tiny alphabet set and some embroidery floss. I left it black and white / any amount of color would have eliminated the "PoP" I was looking for.  I think Nuvo Crystal Drops on each corner where the glue is would be a cute look too & I also plan to edge each banner piece with a little iridescent glitter!

Have fun ~ Merry Christmas & Happy New Year!  I will be looking for your entry in the PIP Challenges!

Hello "Busiest Time of the Year"!!

Welcome to the beginning

of my Christmas Holidays

Offering you a quick share of inspiration

****

I think most of these are self explanatory.  If you have any questions please post in the comments.  I ~ like everyone ~ am a little busy but I will try to answer right away!!  Thanks for looking, I hope you find some inspiration here! 

~ SO ~

HAPPY HOLIDAYS!

<~ 0 ~>

let the fun begin!!

       Cozy Sentiments --->

Made with scrap paper strips!                     

The air subtly sparkles on this one.

Make quick & easy matching envelopes with

inexpensive pads of 1 sided papers. They're

light weight & make pretty interiors.

     



























the bird is stamped, but all the rest are made
strictly from embossing & die cutting!!  I'm hoping to share some other great Christmas/Winter inspiration but if not...
God Bless You & Merry Christmas 💝

Let it Snow! MHK & PIP Challenge

Happy Holidays Everyone!!  I hope your Thanksgiving was a beautiful time that brought you closer to your creator.  I know that I thank Him every day for the blessings in my life, my husband and children, kittens! each sun rise, late Autumn air... so much I am overwhelmed, at times, with gratitude ~ but most of all for the free gift of salvation through his son Jesus Christ. (ThankYou God)

Well, it's time for another PIP Challenge! MHK Designs is this weeks sponsor and you can win some beautiful images from them just for playing along.  Post you latest project on the PIP Challenge Blog Spot ~ this weeks theme . . . . ANYTHING GOES!!

As Luck would have it, this week MHK is having an amazing sale on their already amazingly low prices!!! So be sure to visit their site and use the code CYBER17!!


I  thought it would be fun to use a Spring/Summer stamp in a Winter situation so I chose the frame from  Flutter & Fly  and used it to accent the Let It Snow! script from the  set Snow Babies.

I love the fun font of this sentiment and right now I'm thinking "Let it snow!! Enough with this rain already!!" so the card may be more of a plea than a nostalgic song reference!! 

I have a fun Dec 1st post planned for you so I will see you then :)  In the meantime, don't forget to make a card for the PIP Challenge!!  What am I saying???  You can enter any paper crafted project to our challenge, it doesn't need to be a card ;) 

Have fun, be a cheerful giver, and bless you always.

Gratitude

       Hello Again PIP Challenge Followers!!  This week we have an anything goes challenge # 1746.  Di's Digis is our prize sponsor so for your chance to win just post your creation on the PAMMIES INKY PINKIES CHALLENGE BLOG !!

I am feeling quite thankful this time of year, a perfect time to use this sentiment and adorable fox from Unity Stamp Company Woodland Fox 

I also used my favorite set of swirls from HOT OFF THE PRESS "Feathers" masked into the background all on watercolor paper!  

For an Autumn flavor I used a yellow green fade out,  colorful acrylic leaves and Nuvo dots for accents.

Then I had some fun using an envelope flap die to die cut the sides and a flap to attach the back of the card so that  gold would show through the front.  Such a beautiful combination of color and texture I think <3  Hope you have enjoyed and feel inspired!!  I will be watching for your entries                                                    on the PIP Challenge Blog. 

Have a Beautiful Autumn and a Blessed

and Happy Thanksgiving

Late Autumn Raspberries - PIP Challenge 1744

A new set at MHK Designs

Hello again PIP Fans. Time to head over to Pammies Inky Pinkies Challenge Blog for your chance to win some great images from MHK Designs !!!

They are the generous sponsors of this weeks challenge and this gorgeous image is an example of the lovely things you'll find there!  It's named "Fabulous Fall" and comes in a set of 6 images!! Can you believe this beautiful and versatile set is only $3 ?? !!  They've got lots of Vintage images, modern sentiments, digital papers!!

All you have to do is link up your paper project on the PIP Challenge Blog, "Thankful" is the theme this 5th Monday!!  Not only will lots of us get to enjoy your work of art but each week a winner is drawn!  I really look forward to seeing what you have to enter!!

                    I fell in LOVE with this Fab Fall set.  The Leaves, acorn and sentiments are stunning as is! I printed mine on plain cardstock and then tried a smooshing technique. For me, the colors absorbed into the paper too quickly so next time I'll try it on watercolor paper.  This paper was also sprayed heavily with fixative, so I was thinking the colors would float on it a little more.  The fixative did make the inks look a little grainy, so you will know what to expect if you try it. Still a pretty result I think!

To color the raspberry branch I used ink straight off the palette for intensity.  I really love the way that turned out.  I tried to let it bleed out of the lines but it absorbs so quickly that I could not achieve the look I was going for.  After making the greenery green, I added golds to the center of the leaves. and then a little "Magicals" for a frost look.

I love the simplicity of this card, the art really is the standout here.

Inside I used the MHK sentiment, inserting the "MY" from another of their sets.

So now it's your turn my friend!!  I know you have a bunch of ideas!  My wish for you today is that you find time to spend on something you love!  If that is paper crafting ~ I'll see you over at the PIP Challenges!

Glycerin Fall Leaves

Just a quick post about preserving Autumn Leaves!  After searching Pinterest I came up with the formula of 1 part glycerin and 2 parts water.  I used hot water and stirred it well.  I had planned to "paint" the leaves with the solution but I soon realized that it would be way easier to dip them in it.

I took the dipped leaves and put them on an aluminum cookie sheet. Once I was done I sandwiched them with a second cookie sheep and topped that with a heavy stack of dishes. 

In all fairness I will mention that the pin said I should pour the solution into the cookie sheet, but I didn't want a mess squeezing out!!  I only hope that I got enough on them to do the job! No mention of not using aluminum so I'm hoping there is no ugly discoloration caused by it! 

Now pinterest informs me I need to wait for 4 to 6 days . . . . . .

Well this is taking forever!!

Fall Fence Z-Card with Bugaboo Stamps!

Hello Autumn ~ Hello faithful PIPers!! Join us weekly for the Pammie's Inky Pinkies Challenge!! This weeks challenge is sponsored by
Bugaboo Stamps
so in entering you will have a great chance at winning some Crafty Goodness from their awesome stamp store!! Weeks ago you might recall my Owl Trio Bugaboo post?  Well !! !!  I made it to the craft store & finally finished my digi watercolor project I was so excited about :) 
 

I used only the FALL FENCE  stamp and a couple of sentiment stamps.  Admittedly this card took me hours!!  Now that I have all of the templates made though additional cards will be a breeze ~mostly! I trimmed some pieces for layering and used them like  I did the leaves in the pumpkin cameo above right. 

          

If you're interested in making your own or manipulating digital stamp images you can reference the following how to:

tracing close to the image with the selection
tool, this way if you add layers there's
no big white space or overlap



I decided to make several images from the original  copying  and pasting them to a new blank jpeg, using the selection tool to outline just the parts I wanted to single out.  If there were edges or lines where I didn't want them, I "painted" them white and put in new lines with black! Blowing it up big helps to see what you're doing too!

After I have my images cut out (I save each separately Never altering my original digi) I paste them to a word doc. This way I can make sure they print out the right sizes for my project.  I cram as many on a doc as possible because I have to use a full sheet of watercolor paper each time I print an image. NOTE: your printer may not print things that are too close to the edge of your paper so always print a "dummy" sheet on typing paper to be sure!! I use my dummy to print out the real thing & keep it in my file.

    

Not advertising for anyone, but the only kind of watercolor paper I've found that goes easily through my printer is this one!! As a bonus it is VERY inexpensive.  I am a complete watercolor novice but I don't notice any drop in project quality.  You may want a higher grade for your own projects but this works great for me (I have the higher quality which must be thicker because it will not go through my {ancient} printer)

Z-card Dimensions HERE

The back of the card, I left the moon mostly white as
a place for the senders note

Piles of Fun with Newton's Nook Designs!

Hello faithful PIP Challenge Lovers and Followers!!  Well the season's definitely changed and I'm personally in the mood for all the Fall Fun there is!!  My favorite season and all too often the shortest; so I have to load up on lots of Hot Cider, Pumpkin Spice and Autumn Leaves for the next several weeks :)

To celebrate the 40th week of the new year (hee! hee!) Newton's Nook Designs is sponsoring our challenge and that means the winner get some great "Craft Candy" from their unique line of dies, stencils & stamps inspired by Newton!  If you're not familiar with Newton and friends I highly recommend checking them out ~ so much cuteness, I just fell in love with them all!

            

Well, it was difficult to decide which stamps to showcase for this challenge, but I settled on the Autumn Newton collection.  Oh I love stamping these!!  I decided I would make tags with them for some yummy smelling hand soap gifts. 

Part of the fun with kitty stamps is the limitless ways to color them!!  My daughter caught the same bug & wants to make them over and over to match each one of our many kitties!!

A few notes about creating your own similar:  The edge of the orange paper was rubbed with red ink, white stitching was free handed with a Signo Gel Pen, and because the blue embossed words didn't show up the way I wanted I rubbed the back of the vellum with a little white pigment ink (only behind the words)!

The second tag in different colors, fussy cut and with a tassel :)

   

Thanks so much and have a great day!! 

Don't forget to enter your paper creation in the PIP Challenge for your chance to win ~

and be sure to check out the fun at the Newton's Nook Inky Paws Challenge too!!