Happy Mail!!

Who doesn't love getting something fun in the mail??  As a grown-up it starts to be all about the bills!  That's part of the magic of sharing notes with others via snail mail!!  It doesn't have to be a birthday or Anniversary to send something so simple that makes others feel so special.

Here's Newton doing just that!! Do you know Newton?  Head on over to Newton's Nook Designs (NND) and there you can find out all about him (true story) and the great little shop of delightfulness that includes all his friends and so much more!!

It just so happens that NND is sponsoring our PIP Challenge #1818 this week too!!  The weekly  challenge is ANYTHING GOES and the prize is $15 to spend in their store!!!

One of my favorite things at NND is the stencils!  I thought this "Starfield" stencil looked like the bokah that fills the air in the summertime!  Doesn't it look a little like the out of focus, sundrenched seed pods etc that float around in the hot air??
                I was careful as I stenciled in selectively the dots from the stencil with the blue and then I added in the dots as well as the stars with the yellow after shifting the stencil a little.

Newton is stamped and heat embossed on a white circle die-cut & colored in with a combination of gel pens and watercolor.   The little leaf sprig is from the "Beautiful Leaves" stamp set & washi wrapped all the way around helps dress up the inside too.  

2 sizes of sequins finish it of with a little sparkle factor!(I added those in along with a some extra grass after I thought I was done!!)
Let's see what your friends can anticipate finding in their mail box! (or maybe tucked inside a book, bag, or locker!)  I promise I will check out your entries at PIP Challenges and maybe even leave a comment on your blog!!  Have fun 

Missing You Card for PIP Challenges #1720

Hello & Welcome to PIP Challenge Design Team Member (that's me!!)

INSPIRATION CARD!

This Week our challenge sponsor is Bugaboo Stamps! They always offer such generous prizes and they also provided me with this adorable digital image!!

I can think of so many ways to use this image but I really loved the missing you aspect because of the pretty little home scene!  To make my sentiment I just chose a font in "Word" and sized it to fit my image, printed it with enough space to do the die cutting I'd planned and - tada!! - all done!

A friendly reminder: I sprayed this with workable fixative before I started coloring. Last time I tried hair spray and although it worked I can tell you I like the way colors move on the fixative better. I used a marker to draw in the wall paper lines and the color went on smooth & soft.  I tried this again on a stamped card (so no need for fixative) and the marker left overlap marks and was much more intense - not the look I was going for so the Workable Fixatif might be fun to use on other projects as well :)

I used this die to cut the label shapes (check it out on Amazon - AMAZING price!!) and embossed coral paper with a Sizzix embossing folder.

The really fun part? Figuring out where to use some Nuvo Drops!! The purple- Nuvo Glitter Drops in Purple Rain- and the orange - something brand new Nuvo JEWEL Drops in Orange Marmalade.  Wowzers!! These are so pretty I wanted to put them everywhere!! The jewel drops are kinda see through and the colors are amazing :)

 

Hopefully you're feeling inspired and I look forward to seeing your entry in this weeks PIP Challenge!!! 

Feline Fun

Here's a fun kitty stamp from Unity Stamp Company "Meow Meow Meow"

I just love the sweet little glasses.  I think it says a lot about this little cat's perr-sonality!! 

https://www.unitystampco.com/shop/meow-meow-meow

https://www.papertreyink.com/stamps/everyday-cat-sentiments-mini-stamp-set/  
The whole set of feline saying is only $5 !!  I think they are all such fun!

                        The sentiment I used is

                          from Papertrey Ink.

                    Click the pictures to enlarge

Inside I used 4 different stamps to get the sentiment I wanted!!!  The main body of the sentiment  was individually inked and stamped. I purposely left off the "Autumn" portion of it which is positioned at the top of the stamp.  I used a stamp positioner to place the words (each from a different stamp!!) "have" & "a".  Then I lined up the "PURR-FECT" part of the sentiment in the Unity set, selectively coloring & stamping it.  THEN (whew!) I stamped the word "Autumn" at the very bottom of the sentiment!

Luckily it all lined up & I really like the results.  I wanted an Autumn just because (or maybe "Just Be-claws") card & I really wanted to use my new cat stamp, so this made it all tie together for me!



For fun I usually try to finish the back and inside of all my cards.  This one was so quick & simple and I love the way it makes it feel that much more special to the recipient.



Luckily, I already had some die cut leaves on hand because last night the bearings went out in my Big Shot.  :(  Absolute awfulness!  To make the things I normally used the Big Shot for: I drew in the stitching around the large background and traced one of my dies & cut it out by hand for the plaid cameo.  Not having access to my dies also encouraged me to check out my punches. Making the leafy vine was super fast with my Martha Stewart border punch!

I'll have to remember to look at them more often!!

Tomorrow I hope to blog how to make your own plaid backgrounds like the one I used as a cameo behind our cute little cat.

In case you've missed it I shared an easy way to color the die cut leaves and a super simple way to pop them up without a lot of fuss.  I've been having a lot of fun using them out of my stash for the last couple of weeks!! See blogs from October 2016 "Water Color Leaves" & "Making Small Die Cuts Pop-Up"

KITTY LOVE

Oh my, do I ever love my green eyed kitty.  She grew up in my plant pots (literally!!)  Her name is October.  Her Mom is a Siamese with bright blue eyes & father was a blue eyed calico, Siamese cross.  We always look forward to the kittens! Not only precious, but the array of fur & eye color is exciting to find out!   

   



As my Autumn bulbs arrive and as I'm dutifully dividing my iris, etc. October's first kittens play in the dirt and chase the clods as I dig!  They get in the way of the shovel and walk all over my hands so that I can't see what I'm doing!!  I have to chuckle & often give them a squeeze (which also really slows me down, but oh well ~ such is life!)



One of the barn kitties hanging out at the house while I garden

October & her kitten enjoying the spot of dirt right where I need to dig!!