Creating and Connecting

I am having the most fun this month!!! I am excited to be joining  The Male Room Challenge  as guest designer where my  Go Wild card  was chosen to be the winning card.  The theme for The Male Room Challenge is Team Colors.  To those of you who don't know me, I am from Canada.  We have one NBA (National Basketball Team), the Toronto Raptors.  And they won the NBA championship in 2019!!! My card is inspired by their team colors:)  And huge thanks to my very sweet friend  Just Me: c  for loaning me your  MFT All Star High Top  dies and   MFT Be Original  stamps!  I couldn't have done this without you! Can you guess that it is a slider card! (demo below)   Make sure you drop by  The Male Room Challenge  and check out the fantastic teams inspiration. Tip: I used a dental floss threader to get the crochet thread, size 10, through those crazy little holes for the shoe laces. ...

Who wants spring to come? I sure do! Today's brings the only spring we are seeing here in Alberta, Canada. I sure have enjoyed this past month, guest designing at the  Just Us Girls Challenge !  You talented ladies have been so sweet to me!  Today I am using  WPlus9 Tossed Floral Background  and  Essentials by Elllen Big Scripty Hello by Julie  dies.  The theme for my final guest card in this wild card week is "Inlay Die Cuts".  I have been trying to pull out unused or gently used stamps and dies lately, and I had never used either of these dies. Although not super quick, I do love how it turned out, so it was well worth the time! I also share the non-inlay version of the card:) I hope you drop by and  check out all the wonderful cards the JUGS team made:  Carol,   Sue ,  Angie,   Vickie,   Ina,   Bobby,   Nancy,   Lisa,   Maria,  and  Cécile . And please make sure to pull out ...

When I saw the inspiration photo for the Just Us Girls Challenge  I knew that Essentials by Ellen Subbing In by Brandi Kinkaid Stamps  and Subbing In by Brandi Kinkaid Dies  and Porthole Dies  were the perfect match! Thank you Ellen for giving me these wonderful presents! And thank you to JUGS for once again having me as a guest designer!   I look forward to seeing how this photo inspires you!  Please make sure to check out all the wonderful cards the JUGS team made: Carol, Sue , Angie, Vickie, Ina, Bobby, Nancy, Lisa, Maria, and Cécile . In case you want to make a similar shadow box card here is what I did (instructions then photo to follow). 1. Cut a piece of Canson Bristol or Neenah Solar White 110 lb. cardstock 4 by 9 1/2 inches. 2. Ink blend your background and add splatters.  Rather than the usual splatter with water I used reinkers for my splatter so they would be dark. 3. Score the panel after ink blending at 3/4 inc...

Alcohol inks are addicting! I had so much fun with friends this past weekend, crafting and laughing! They wanted to try alcohol inks with no arguments from me.  I did a "twofer" out of the background and I can not choose a favorite. Tips: 1. I use my Copic marker refills and 91% Isopropyl alcohol.  Choose 3 or 4 colors that are similar color, with some being lighter, others darker.  I chose 3 cooler reds, RV02, R89 and RV99, and 1 warmer red, R46.  If you follow me you know I like to mix warm (bluer tone) colors and cool (yellower tone) colors. 2. Drop 3 or 4 drops of each color on Yupo paper cut to 5 by 8 inches (half of a sheet). I put the darker colors more toward the center and the lighter colors on the edges. I put is down in a gentle "S" shaped pattern at a diagonal. 3.  Blow it around with a straw or air compressor to spread the ink.  I have tried both and find I get similar results, but find the air compressor is easi...

I love to color! Today I am using the beautiful Essentials by Ellen Mondo Amaryllis stamp set along with the Essentials by Ellen Mondo Holly stamp set for the sentiment. I have a couple of tips on how I achieve greater depth and texture in my coloring. Here is a short video on how I made and colored this card. Tips: 1. Use both warm and cool colors in your image. Here my warm, or more orangey red is Copic Marker R29 and my cool, or more blue reds are Copic Marker R89  and Copic Marker R39. 2. Use a muted medium shade of blue such as Copic Marker B34  to deepen the color of the shadows. 3. For more realism add texture once you are finished with your Copic Markers using Prismacolor Pencils. I used PC 1029 and PC1067. 4. And most important, just color and have fun!   I am joining 3 challenges with this card. Emerald Creek Dares Challenge: Christmas/Winter   with Emerald Creek Craft Supplies Time Out Challenges: Merry and Cheerful If ...

When I saw the super adorable Essentials by Ellen Dinomite Christmas stamps and Essentials by Ellen Dinomite Halloween stamps by the amazingly talented Brandi Kinkaid I knew exactly what I wanted to do...a dinosaur Christmas tree!!!  I know a little boy who will looove these cards! (...and a big boy too; DJ keeps trying to claim cards. LOL! I keep telling him we need to share them!) And I love how it turned out! A little Moonstone Nuvo Glimmer Paste  was the finishing touch. I hope you enjoy my short video on how I made this and 2 extra cards with the "leftovers"! Tips: 1. Stamp and color 2 of each of the dinosaurs and some of the accent images in copic friendly ink and die cut them using the Essentials by Ellen Dinomite Christmas dies  and Essentials by Ellen Dinomite Halloween dies .  This gives enough images to make the Christmas tree, with a few left over. 2. When coloring use dull copic YGs, like YG93, in the ...