Sketchy Dragonfly

Hi everyone!

Are you ready for the weekend? 

I know I am. I've got plans. Crafty plans. ;)

It's crazy, I've never taken on more projects,

never been so busy as I am right now,

and yet I am so, so happy!

I guess the busyness just doesn't seem

so stressful when you're doing something you love.

I tried painting pottery this week --

I'll do a post on that soon with pics. :)

And I signed up for five weeks of free

drawing lessons at my local library,

starting next Monday.

I'm just filling my schedule to the brim,

but I'm going to bed content every night, 

and that's what's important, right?

But speaking of being busy, 

today I wanted to share with you another card

I made for CHA with one of the new stamp sets

from the Stamp-It Australia "Imagine" line

with Crafter's Companion.

I used several images from Set 65.

I really liked the sketchiness of the dragonfly

so I put him on a sheet of notebook paper

and tried to make the card look as if it were

a page from some scientific smash book.

I hope you like it!

Thanks so much for dropping in! 

Leave me a comment,

and I'll be happy to pop over and return the favor!

Crafter's Companion - New Releases and Excitement!

Happy Monday, everybody!

How are you today?

Personally, I'm great! ;)

I've had a bit of an exciting weekend.

I'm sure that most of you are aware that the big

Craft and Hobby Association (CHA) show is 

going on right now in Anaheim, CA.

It's the biggest craft show in the world,

where all vendors come together and showcase

their wares and upcoming releases.

Well, Crafter's Companion is there as well,

and myself and the other girls on the design team

were given the privilege of working with the 

brand-new Stamp-It Australia "Imagine" line and 

creating cards to be displayed in their booth.

I can't tell you how exciting it was to see the photos

being posted on Facebook, and to recognize OUR CARDS!

We girls were just going crazy! What an honor!

Well, the Brittish Television show Craft And Create

was also at CHA filming various companies and their product

and we were given the heads up that Crafter's Companion

would be on and that we could watch it LIVE on the

Craft And Create TV's website.

I tuned in to see two of my cards being showcased on TV!!!

The other girls were featured as well, and oh, what a delight!

My husband made the joke that maybe the Queen 

was watching and would send us an invite to visit. ;)

Not likely, but it WAS terribly exciting.

One of my cards that was seen was this little miss

from the Set 24, and the other was this one

featuring the hydrangea stamp from set Set 71:

I paper-pieced it with two different shades of 

purple patterned paper and popped the 

lighter blooms up with dimensionals.

I watercolored directly on top of the patterned paper

with my Tim Holtz Distress Markers

to add some shading and a more realistic look.

I hope you like it!

If you go to the Crafter's Companion store and

click on the individual Stamp-It Australia "Imagine" sets

you can see our cards in the samples. :)

Mine are Set 65, the bottom card with the dragonfly

and Set 71, the hydrangea you see here.

Go check them out if you have time

and let me know what you think.

Have a great day!

Crafter's Companion January Challenge

Hello there, everybody!

I'm here with a project for 

Crafter's Companion January Challenge - 

Anything But A Card.

The challenge runs all month long,

and the winner receives a $30 gift certificate

to the Crafter's Companion store.

So be sure to hop on over there and check that out!

Here's my project:

I decided to decorate a kraft gift bag 

 embellishing it with a paper doily,

the Friend stamp by Mulberry Wood for Crafter's Companion, 

Distress Markers, tickets, wood veneers,

and other odds and ends including 

Spray and Sparkle in Pink Iridescent for a truly unique,

personalized and homemade look.

A close up:

AND ...
I filmed a video tutorial
where I walk you through just how easy it is
to take a plain gift bag, and make it into
something that showcases your crafty style,
rather than purchasing a common gift bag from the store.
So much prettier, and much more cost-effective, too!

I hope you enjoy it!

Click on the YouTube icon on the lower right
to watch there in HD.
And while you're at it, why not subscribe? ;)

Thanks for popping in!

Cupcake Celebration

Hey, ladies!

Today is my mom's birthday,

so I thought I'd share the card I made for her.

This card was definitely inspired by a brand-new, 

exciting challenge called Pinspired!

Aptly named, it garners its inspiration from Pinterest.

This is their very first challenge,

and I'm so excited to play along!

The sponsor is The Alley Way stamps.

I've never tried them out, but I'd sure love the chance to!

I also based my card layout off of

Retro Sketches #45.

Isn't it a cute one?

Love that.

I'll definitely have to file that one away

for future use.

Also, don't forget that Lawnscaping

is having our first challenge of the year right now,

which is also our birthday challenge! We're 2!

Hop on over and wish us happy birthday

and play along!

Hope you all have a fantastic weekend!

Thanks for popping by.

Coffee, Tea, or Me?

Hey everybody!

Boy have I got a treat for you today!

Today I get to reveal that Crafter's Companion

is releasing FIFTEEN new stamp sets at CHA this week!

These fifteen sets are cling mounted stamps

from the "Imagine Collection"of Stamp-It Australia.

The design team had about a week to play

with the images in digi format and create 

as many cards as we desired or were able 

to be showcased in the Crafter's Companion booth.

I was able to get six cards made

and I carefully packaged them up between layers

of tissue paper and washi and sent them out

with my blessing through the USPS this morning. 

So excited that some of my work will be seen there!

Wish I could have hand-delivered them personally,

but this is the next best thing. :)

Today I'll share my first:

The "Imagine Collection" for Stamp-It Australia

is full of beautiful images -- butterflies, dragonflies, wildlife,

but if you know me, you know that I gravitate toward 

the cute, the sweet, and the whimsical.

So even though it was an absolute delight

to get to work with ALL the new releases,

when I saw this cute little girl here, I was just itching 

to create a card with her.

I did a LOT of paper piecing with her.

Her hair, the bundle on her back, her kimono,

all the trim and her hair clip...

and then did a lot of watercoloring right over top

with Tim Holtz Distress Markers, scribbled on 

an acrylic block and picked up with a water brush.

I added some papers from the Miss Caroline collection

from My Mind's Eye, and die cut a doily from MFT,

which I chopped up and used various pieces of.

The little bunch of flowers beside the sentiment

are from another image in the same stamp set.

I hope you like her!

And I hope you'll come back soon for 

more sneak peaks of the new sets.

Thanks for popping by. :)

Lawnscaping Challenge #49

Hello everyone! 

Welcome to Lawnscaping Challenge #49!

Not only is this the start of a brand-new challenge year,

it's also our birthday! Yay!

Lawnscaping is turning 2. :)

I'm so happy to have been a part of this

awesome team of ladies from the very start,

and I hope that I'll get to continue with them

until the very end -- which I pray will be NEVER!

I absolutely love being a part of this fantastic team.

We are being sponsored so generously

by the incredible Simon Says Stamp.

Thanks, Simon!

And here's my card:

I used Lawn Fawn's Quinn's ABCs

and Critters In The Burbs, along with paper

from the Dewey Decimal petite pack.

And I added some washi from Freckled Fawn.

I hope you like it!

Please stop by the Lawnscaping Challenge Blog

to see the other AMAZING design team projects --

they really out did themselves this round. WOW!

While your there, check out the deets on how to play along! 

We'd love to have you!

Thanks so much for stopping by today! :)

Happy New Year and An Exciting Announcement!

Happy New Year, everybody!

Are you feeling a little like this today?

I hope you were surrounded by loved 

ones as you rang in the New Year. 

My wish for all of you is that 2013

brings lots of exciting, good things into your lives.

Speaking of exciting, good things ...

Remember this card that I posted recently?

The image was an adorable Mulberry Wood image

made by a company called Crafter's Companion.

I entered it in their monthly challenge.

And then, surprise, surprise!

A few days later I had an email in my inbox

from Taylor, the leader of the US Design Team,

(Crafter's Companion began and is huge in the UK)

saying that she loved my work and would

I like to join the Design Team for a six-month term

beginning on January 1st?

Would I?

I admit, I took about three days to think about it,

because even though it's an amazing opportunity,

it's also a big commitment -- six projects a month!

But in the end, how could I say no?

So you're now looking at the newest member 

of the Crafter's Companion Design Team!

The card up top is my official first project,

using the Party Animal image from the 

sweet line of stamps called Strawberry Kisses.

I hope you'll come check out their blog,

play along in our challenges,

and pick up some of their adorable stamps 

at the Crafter's Companion USA store.

Not to mention, look forward to all the fun,

crafty projects that I'll be featuring here on my blog!

Thanks so much for all your love and support!

Wishing you all a very crafty, blessed 2013!