Sassy Cheryl's Challenge

Hello friends.. I hope everyone is enjoying a terrific day.

Every Tuesday it's challenge time at Sassy Cheryl's, and this week I have the pleasure of hosting the challenge. I chose a color combination of Kraft (or tan), light blue and peach... I love that combination.

This image was a freebie for Sassy Cheryl's Paper Craft Planet friends when they reached 500 followers. I've used it a few times before in my challenges. I think it's safe to say it's one of my favs.

I used white craft ink on a small flower stamp (from Judith) to create my own designer paper and the digital image was colored with both Prismacolor pencils and copic markers. Hope you like it.

For obscure holidays.. here's one that's cause for celebration.. it's Waffle Iron Day. Are they kidding or what? I think I'll start making up better holidays than this... I sure hope July brings a few interesting ones.. I need a good laugh!

I'm also entering this in these challenges...
Crafty Angels - Use your favorite stamp or dig
Crafty Catz - Go digital
Other Lovelies - Flowers
CCEE Stampers - Summer card w/ flowers
Mark's Finest Papers - 3+ flowers
Digital Tuesday - Summertime

Thanks so much for stopping by... I love your comments. If you have the chance, I'd love to see you join me at the challenge this week at Sassy Cheryl's!

Happy crafting everyone!

Such Big Stuff - It's all about 'green'

Hello sweet peeps... Happy March.. Happy Tuesday to you!

I'm so excited that today is the very first challenge at Sassy Cheryl's. It's been long-awaited and the Sassy Girls are so anxious to show you all of their creative projects! What a talented team Cheryl has put together (well, not me necessarily... it's the other gals...my area of expertise is the administrative stuff,  he-he)

If you love digital images (as I do), you have to check out the items at Sassy Cheryl's store. Her images are fun, whimsical, and fun to color. There's something for every season and every style you might like.

Sassy Cheryl is having a sale this week to celebrate the new team AND our first challenge.. so it's 20% off of your entire purchase.  I think I might have to go shopping! Yup.. some retail therapy is in order.

Our first challenge is all about "green"...just perfect for St. Patrick's Day.  If you are looking for a fun challenge, then check out our challenge. To celebrate all of this, I've colored up this darling little lass..

Isn't she having fun!  You can use any Sassy Cheryl image you'd like.. just make the main theme of your card or project "green".

Sassy Cheryl's group at Paper Craft Planet is where we celebrate with freebies for every hundred new members. If you haven't done so, you should check it out... what a nice group of ladies. Grab the freebies while you are there.

So, gather up your favorite coloring medium, get a Sassy image, and celebrate Sassy Cheryl's first challenge.

Thanks so much for stopping by.. and 'til next time, as the Irish would say...

Slainte!!
which means..to your health!

You're So Cute!

Happy Thursday everyone! Whew.. did this week fly by? It's been a busy week here. I didn't get to post everything that I intended, but I have some really good excuses...does that count?

Sunday was a stellar day...I completed Copics Certification on Sunday, my oldest son was awarded a promotion in the Army, we had a handful of weekend houseguests, including a young soldier that turned 21 while visiting (remember that age??) and my great friend Sally!! So a little birthday cake and some champagne later, I'm back. And it's been super busy since!

This is one of the newest digital images from Mo's Digital Pencil... it's "You're Kinda Cute".  This is the near-sighted hedgehog who fell in love with a pin cushion.. a real hot tomato!! Our February hostess, Dawn, put together this great sketch challenge... hope you will have the time to play along with us.

There's a lot going on at Mo's challenge this week.. we are about to announce our first Guest Design Team member.... so stay tuned for more information.

Thanks so much for taking the time to stop by and for your kind comments.. I read each one of them... 'Til next time, be safe in all you do!

Another reason to go digital!!

Happy Monday everyone! It's been a busy week here in the Wired Angel's Craft Grotto... lots of things going on and lots planned for a very busy week ahead.

Here's a card I made using "Bismarck" from the very talented author/illustrator Maurie Manning of Mo's Digital Pencil.. Isn't this little guy adorable?

So where did I get my inspiration... from these little stinkies!!

Meet our Barky Von Schnauzers....(L-R) Buddy, Mitzi, and their pup Molly on the right (who turned one yesterday).

Well one of these little pups had a field day chewing up one of my newest stamps... (another reason to go digital???) Hmmm... I wonder which one of these little rascals it could have been??

Any guesses which rascal did this?  Leave a comment and let me know which of the Barky Von Schnauzers was the culprit..... and I'll let you know next week. Right now they are in doggy time out until one of them comes clean!

Thanks for stopping by and enjoy a terrific week!

So what season is it anyway, Peggy?

Okay.. so you probably know that I’ve been anxiously awaiting Autumn since it’s my favorite season. But here I am making Spring-like cards.. go figure!

It’s just me coloring some of the newest stamps that I picked up at used stamp sale. You know how it goes… ‘one man’s junk is another man’s treasure’. So, I picked up a lot of treasures – all new to me, of course. This birdhouse stamp was a real find and I can’t just wait until Spring of 2010 to color this…no way!

This next card is made using a stamp that I purchased a while ago. I love the way this colors up whether I’m using pencils or Copics.

So, I’ve been asking several of my friends… do you color and then try to put the designer paper together.. or does the designer paper give you the inspiration? I typically color and then TRY to put stuff together. Maybe that’s why I drag my feet making the actual card.

My friend Lelia visited today so we inked up a lot of stuff and enjoyed our crafting time together. She suggested that I pick the paper for my inspiration and then go from there. So I did it, I really tried, and this Fall card is a result of using a piece of paper from Basic Gray for inspiration. I think it worked well and I’ll be trying to approach card-making from that angle more often.

How do you design your cards? I would love to hear how you do it. Do you color first.. or use the paper as your inspiration? Leave me a comment and let me know.

Don’t forget that Mo’s Digital challenge is every Thursday. So make sure you stop back to see what the Challenge Team has conjured up. This week we are concentrating on unusual folds for our cards.

Until then… be safe in all you do, and thanks for stopping by.

Autumn Greetings

Most of the time I make cards for the sake of making cards. But every now and then I have a particular person or event in mind. This one I made to send to my elderly Aunt and Uncle for Thanksgiving.

My Aunt is getting on in years, and can’t rush down to the Hallmark store anymore. She was a Hallmark freak!! So I often send her a supply of cards I’ve created. She loves them so much that she won’t send them to anyone. She just keeps them.

I picked up this stamp at a used stamp sale.. don’t think that wasn’t dangerous to attend! But I like the image a lot and it was relaxing to color. I spent lots of time with stamping friends on Saturday… and while they worked on projects and cards, I simply colored and colored. Just getting images ready for stuff that comes up. Like my friend Maurie says.. coloring gives you that ‘Zen-like' relaxed feeling. It truly does.

Thanks for stopping by today. I hope you are having a terrific Fall day. Be safe in all you do.

Details: Stamp Affair, circa 1995, black, white and kraft cardstock, misc.designer paper, tea dye antiquing, distressing, copic markers, gingham ribbon, vintage button from my Mom’s collection, twine.

Mo’s Digital Pencil – Weekly Challenge #3

Good morning everyone. I hope you are enjoying a wonderful Fall day.. and for my friends ‘down-under’.. a beautiful Spring day. Wherever you are, I hope you get some time to hang out in your craft area.

We are already at our third challenge at Mo’s Digital Pencil. And this week, Sandy, our hostess, has challenged us to make anything but a card. It’s nice to have that kind of a break from cards all the time. Thanks Sandy! So check out the info for this week’s challenge and join in. You can see all of Mo’s wonderful images at her shop.

 

This package was made to hold Shortbread ‘n Chocolate Cookie Mix… hmmm…. probably my favorite type of cookie. I used a plain white lunch sack to create this gift package. It could easily be adapted to any type of mix you might like to make for gifts.

Check out what the design team has put together this week. There’s so many great ideas for gift-giving and the talent is amazing.

Thanks for stopping by.. enjoy your day, and be safe in all you do.

Design Team Farewell!

Today is my last day with the design team at KLM Designs. Being part of Katy and Sue's team has been a great experience -- the chance to work with a very talented group of ladies. I can't thank everyone enough for all of the inspiration they have been.

This is the Harvest image from KLM.. I colored it with copics, used SU designer paper and a stripe that I had in my scrap bin. The raffia was simply tied to look like a corn stalk... thought something different than a bow would be fun for this card.

The sentiment is SU... and it's appropriate for this posting.. I'm sending a big 'thank you' to Katy and Sue for asking me to be part of their charter group! They have become wonderful friends.

Thanks for stopping by... enjoy your day!

A Serene Garden Scene

Hi everyone! I hope that you are enjoying a great weekend and terrific weather.

Did you know that July 26th is “Aunt and Uncles Day”.... yep, another obscure holiday probably conjured up by the likes of Hallmark or American Greetings. I tried to find the origin of this almost forgettable holiday but couldn’t track anything down. However, for me, it is a day to honor a very special pair of relatives that I do owe a quick note.

So I made this card with my special Aunt and Uncle in mind, not only to say hello, but to also thank them for their hospitality during my recent trip to the East Coast.

The adorable image created by Susan West of KLM Digital Designs is called Garden Shed and is one of their newest releases. I love the intricate detail that lends itself well to my style of coloring and card-making.

I’ll celebrate Aunt and Uncles Day by sending off this card.

Thanks for stopping by… and be safe in all you do.

Details: Copic markers, Garden Shed from KLM Digital Designs, 80# white cardstock, black linen cardstock, pale yellow pearl paper from Bazzill, computer-generated sentiment.

Welcome to a new week

Hello everyone. Cheers to the start of a terrific week for all of us.

Today I’ve got two new darling images from Mo’s Digital Pencil to show you. The first is a Christmas image of two little boys.. the youngest is totally bored and probably frightened of Santa.. and the older brother has a wish list a mile along. I made this for the Christmas Stampin’ All Year Long challenge. The criteria this week is to create a card and decorate the inside. I’m usually guilty of leaving the inside of my cards blank allowing the user to create their own message.. slightly ‘generic’…  But for this challenge (although there’s no pic of the inside) it reads “May all your Christmas wishes come true”..and this little guy is hoping his wishes all come true.

The second is Mummu… you’ve seen her before on my blog, but this time she is rockin’. Mummu has a great attitude. and my interpretation is that she’s having a great time hearing music that perhaps only she can hear. Isn’t she having fun? Check out those sandals… they might even be BIrkenstocks!

 

Both cards were colored with Copics.. For the Christmas card, the paper is white, navy and red linen and embossed with the snowflake Cuttlebug folder.. “Mummu” is made from white linen, Bazzill lime, black linen and the corner decoration is using an SU punch. Check out all of the darling digital stamps that Maurie Manning has for sale at her site.

It’s a Digital Kinda Day!

Happy Saturday everyone.. and for those who jump start our economy every day… enjoy your time off!! This week has been filled with exciting stuff… I’ve won lotteries in the UK, Ireland, Nigeria, Sudan, and throughout Asia… I’ve also had close family members I’ve never heard of in England, Chad, the Congo and other parts of South Africa leave me millions and millions of dollars (bazillions!!) in their wills.. Yep, I’ve been overwhelmed with spam this week. How ‘bout you?

Really… I’ve been busy creating.. and have so many cards and projects to show you that I’m posting three today… all of which are inspired by great digital stamps.

The first is a digital image from Dustin' Pike's newest release and the card is for the Design D.I.V.A.S. challenge at my Splitcoast blog group. Our theme is Christmas in July and the challenge required snowflakes somewhere on our project. I used a scallop Sizzix die to cut the olive paper, used green and turquoise for a non-traditional look and colored with Copics. Did you know you can create polka dots by lighting touching the color with the tip of the colorless blender as I did with the scarf and hatband. I added liquid appliqué to the cuffs on the boots and shirt and used a heat gun to puff it up and create a furry look.

For the second card I used the tulip image from the KLM Digital Designs collection. This striking image was created by Sue West of KLM and it’s… just perfect for coloring with Prisma pencils.. my favorite!! Check out all of their fantastic digital stamps and get some inspiration while visiting.

My third card is for the DareU2DigiStamp Friday challenge. I love this challenge and the opportunity to touch base with friends across the Pond and see all the inspiration and talent that Chris, Sandra, and their design team put together. This week’s challenge is to create a card (or project) using pink, black and white.
For my third card, I used this digi stamp from Mo’s Digital Pencil. Maurie Manning is brand new to the digital stamp world and the details in her sketches are amazing. You have to check them out.. she’s posting new items every day.

Thanks for stopping by, enjoy your day (check your email for lottery wins!!) and be safe in everything you do.

Hmmm.. Two posts in one day

Well, that's because I've been a very busy woman! Actually, I couldn't wait to have this post ready to share with you.

This is my youngest son, Timothy James (circa late ‘70’s) Tim was all of three at the time when he nabbed his Dad's dress hat and gloves and surprised us with this photo-op. It’s been proudly displayed in my home ever since.

My friend Maurie Manning, author and illustrator of children’s books (Digital Pencil) was getting ready to do some patriotic digi sketches for her Etsy site and I asked if I could provide this photo as inspiration. And, as luck would have it, she ran with it! This newest digi stamp “Time Out To Support Our Troops” was just released today.. ..In addition to a cute little boy and girl giving a great salute (with the correct hand unlike the above), Maurie has created all kinds of military hats that fit these little people that cover every branch of our Armed Forces. So, how cool is that?

Here’s my first creation using this newest digital image from Maurie. .

I think Maurie hit a home run with this series and I think you are really going to find many opportunities to use these images in your card making and scrapbooking projects..… I can’t wait to hear what you think and I can’t wait to show Tim that he’s famous!!

You can check out Maurie’s beautiful digital images here.

As always, I appreciate you stopping by… enjoy your day and have a great weekend!

Details: Maurie J. Manning’s Digital Images, “Time Out to Support Our Troops”, Copic markers, Paper Studio star punch, Micron 01 black pen for stitching, ribbon from JoAnn’s, SU Round Tab punch, Nestabilities square and scallop embossing dies. SU designer paper, SU Not Quite Navy cardstock, White cardstock, Copics

You're Out of This World

Happy Sunday everyone! I hope you are enjoying your day.

I wanted to share this card made with one of Dustin Pike's newest digital images recently released. I used copics to color and paper pieced all of the images onto the background digi image which I also colored.

In addition to this release, there's a whole lot of really sweet deals over at his blog...lots of great images, and some are sold in lots of ten images for $10. Great deals to check out! I think these images are great for masculine cards.

Thanks for stopping by.. enjoy your day.

Freebie From Dustin Pike

Hi everyone - I've got a quick one to share with you today.. this bird is the freebie for this week over at Dustin Pike's blog... grab it while you can because they aren't posted forever!

This image could easily become a Jay Hawk. Kansas University fans would would love to have this image.

I used copic markers, SU and Bazzill designer papers, white linen cardstock and the sentiment is from My Favorite Things.

Thanks for looking! Enjoy your day.

CSAYL

Hi Everyone - It's week 19 for the Christmas Stampin' All Year Long Challenge and this week it's hosted by Sankari of Sankari's Sunshine Corner. Our challenge was to include a number, or numbers, in our card layout. I used this postmark from the SU set, "Winter Post" (circa 2008-09) and distressed the inner section with Ranger tea dye to look like an antique postcard. The stamp is Caroling Hedgehogs from the Margaret Sherry collection of Penny Black and the image was colored using Copic markers.

Enjoy your day.. thanks for stopping by.

Hedgehog Love

Do you always need a supply of birthday cards on hand?  I do….I have a huge Irish family plus friends in every one of the states I’ve ever lived in (that’s a lot of states in our good ole USA)…and my supply is running a bit low. So…. I am tackling another set of cards to have available for at least the summer babies. This is the first that I have ready to share with you.

This image is from the Hedgehog collection (don’t you just love these little guys?). This was colored using Copic markers and I added glitter and Liquid Appliqué to the birthday cake to make it the center of attention.

 

Don’t you wish life was always this happy?? Thanks so much for stopping by… Drop me a note and let me know what you think of these little sweeties! 

 

Details: Neenah White linen and black linen cardstock, 80 lb. weight,  SU designer packs (6”x6”), ribbon from Basic-Basic (Michael’s), Liquid Appliqué, SU Iridescent Ice Powder, and some glitter!

Check this out…

I have many different serving dishes in my kitchen. I love to present every meal with eye-pleasing quality…

Over the years, I have collected many pieces that work in my kitchen and decor so well. I found these ‘cabbage’ dishes a few years ago, and they are perfect for salads or for serving vegetables. But they aren’t very hardy in the the dishwasher as I came to learn the hard way.

In these pictures you will notice two white chips in the ceramic dishes – in the lower right hand corner.

And here’s a close-up shot….

 

So, rather than throw them away…. I colored the chips with Copic markers…

 

 

And, now it’s hard to see the chips..  I used R35, R45, and R39 until the color was pretty close to the original red glaze-ware.

 

 

Then I topped the chips off with Crystal Effects from SU.. I don’t think you can even tell there was a chip!  I have heard that both Copics and Crystal Effects have endless uses.. .. and now I’m a believer.. Try this on a ceramic dish you might have. Don’t throw it away!  Repair it!  I’ve not put these through the dishwasher yet, but I’ll let you know how they fare!

Oh, Sew Cute!

Hello and happy Sunday. Weekends sure do fly by quickly, don’t they? Anyway, I hope you are enjoying your Sunday wherever you are in blog land.

This is another card using the Art Impressions Door Ways and Window Shops sets. I used Copic Markers and paper pieced the lantern, window shade, door sign and mannequin. I used a small brass brad for the door knob.  Hope you like it.

 

 

Thanks for stopping by.

Dare You 2 Digi Stamp Challenge 5

Hello everyone..

Today I have a card to show you that I designed for the fifth challenge at Dare You 2 Digi Stamp (DY2DS)… It’s a sketch this week, hosted by our friends Sandra and Chris, from across the Pond. This is a Friday challenge, but since they are currently at least six hours ahead of us… and very close to Greenwich Mean Time, they are fast asleep (well, maybe).. and I have had the opportunity to design this while enjoying a hot cup of PG Tips… the most wonderful tea that the UK has to offer!

This beautiful digital image is from Chris of Sketching Stamper and you can view her wonderful designs here. With Mother’s Day approaching here in the States, it would be perfect. I have always loved the combination of yellow and black. I think it’s such a striking contrast and a perfect Spring card.

Thanks for stopping by! Enjoy your Friday and have a wonderful weekend!

Details: Paper Pizzazz designer paper, SU designer paper, black and white linen cardstock, SU Vanilla Grosgrain ribbon, So Saffron paper, Copic markers, Sketching Stamper Digital Image.

CSAYL

Wow... it's Sketch Week 11 already at Christmas Stampin' All Year Long! That translates to just about 40 weeks until Christmas! And the weather here still feels like winter at a balmy 34F.

Check out the sketch that Maria and her team put together for this week's challenge at http://christmasstampin.blogspot.com/ and join in on the fun. Their designs are awesome.

For my card I used Copic markers, liquid applique, glitter, white linen cardstock, designer papers from my scrap bin, ribbon, copper brads. The sentiment is computer-generated. The stamp is from the Anita collection of Sugarloaf, Inc., circa 2002.