New Year’s Eve Party Post 1

Challenge details ~ EVERYONE can play along and we hope you do!!! All you have to do is go to Jacksonbelle’s Challenge BLOG and leave a comment & link to your card in the post for the specific challenge you are playing with!! That’s it! (You don't HAVE to use JBelle products but if you've got it.....use it! ) The deadline to enter for the CHALLENGES (blog candy deadline is different) is 1/4/09 by 12pm EST! There will be a prize given away for each challenge. If you upload to SCS, please include the specified keywords referenced in the challenge details below. This way, we can all see your beautiful creation!

Blog Hop Treasure Hunt ~ This is going to be so much fun!!!! We can’t tell you WHO is the bearer of the BLOG CANDY…you will have to go FIND it!!! LOL!!!! Visit ALL the girls’ blogs below (or left sidebar) and MAYBE one or two of them might have some candy to share!! When you find the bearer of the gift(s), leave a comment on their blog! That’s it!

All winners will be announced on the Jacksonbelle Embellishments Challenge Blog on Monday, 1/5/09.

Challenge #1 ~ 3pm (EST) SCS Keyword ~ JBENYE1

For our first challenge we are asking you to “RING” in the New Year!! Keyword here ~ RING!!! Use your creativeness (is that a word??) and make a card that has a “ring” to it!! LOL!!! Ideas ~ Wedding card (rings ~ get it!?!?!), circles, a bell, Kids (ring around the Rosie), diamonds (either the shape OR the bling!!!), etc…

I hope you will play! Here’s my “RING” creation:

The stamped image is from Penny Black. I colored the cute little guy with alcohol markers (prismacolor). I used a Sakura glitter pen to bling it up a bit! The paper is Basic Grey Offbeat and Ambrosia. The buttons are from the Basic Grey Offbeat collection as well! The ribbon is the lovely May Arts double sided – it is oh so yummy to use!

Don’t forget the IMPORTANT stuff!

Be sure to check out ALL of the JBelle Girls – you never know what kind of candy you might find! They are all linked on my left sidebar!

AND be sure to check back in two hours for our next challenge and more prizes!

Bell Bottoms

Look what I made! I'm so proud! My friend was talking about what she was going to do for her daughter's Halloween costume and I thought it was a great idea, so I gave it a try! I'm half tempted to wear them as regular jeans rather than a Halloween Costume! I also added a couple of butterfly iron-ons. I took some scraps and made a purse too! I used my Basic Grey magnets (that I got from Jacksonbelle Embellishments) for the purse - not sure how long they will last on fabric without extra adhesive, but hey - I only need it for one night, right? I may decide to make it more permanent later, but for now they will do! I used a piece of fancy fiber for the handle and to make it just a bit heftier, I hand crocheted it (I don't have a crochet hook!). I also used Crystal Effects to glue on the flower - I LOVE it when my card-making supplies come in handy for other projects! Oh, and I used my daughter's Hello Kitty Sewing machine for these too - I love that thing! It doesn't go way too fast so I don't feel like I'm going to sew my fingers right into it!

Jacksonbelle Tuesday

Lynda had a great idea for Jacksonbelle Embellishments Design Team Challenge this week - four layers! At first I thought - oh - no problemo...but then I kept wanting to add a layer to this, and add a layer to that - well if I had added all the layers I wanted to - it would have been like an 8 layer card! So..I went simple.... and I'm proud to say I made it in 4 layers! Including embellishments! Ya for me! : )

What do you think?

Card Details: I used SU! Carousel Notes, Baja Breeze for the card base. I scored and glued them together at the top. Then I cut a Chocolate Chip circle using my Coluzzle and layered a piece of Basic Grey Offbeat paper on top of that, sponged it a bit, and added some white gel pen dots. I embossed the Imaginisce "Thank You" for the sentiment and added a May Arts bow! I think it is pretty darn cute for being only 4 layers!

Be sure to check out Lindsey's store - she's got LOTS going on over there. She's been adding new stuff and I've been drooling! I can't wait to get my hands on some of the holiday paper, like the new Fancy Pants line, Holiday.

Check these out too!

The Queen Bee...Lindsey
Lynda Benden
Amber Hight
Beth Thomas
Broni Holcombe
Dee Jackson
Rachel
Lila Holgate
Maren Benedict

See you tomorrow with a Color Throwdown Challenge!

Jacksonbelle Broni-Day!

Today the Jacksonbelle Embellishments Design Team CASEd Broni! I was actually pretty stressed out about this! I LOVE Broni's water coloring- I really wanted to try that - but I was too scared, so I found something else to try! This is the card that I cased: (Here I am!)

I love how she popped up the little birdie and paper pierced just around one part of it. I also thought the corner piercing was perfect (and I messed up on mine - darn it!)

Here's my attempt!

I feel like the pink paper that I put the bird on is just a little too bright - but I think the lighting of the picture makes it worse, and the ghost snowflake that I colored pink turned out just a bit to pink - but oh well! I also messed up on the corner piercing, so I had to punch that corner off and do something else...that is where the snowflake and brad came in! I added Shimmerz Glitter Paint to dress it up a bit. I used Coal Shimmerz on the bird and Magenta Shimmerz on the patterned paper, which happens to be the yummy Imaginisce paper, Santa's Secret Garden. The ribbon is A Muse.

Be sure to check out the Case Jobs!

Design Team Members
The Queen Bee...Lindsey
Lynda Benden
Amber Hight
Beth Thomas
Broni Holcombe
Dee Jackson
Rachel
Lila Holgate
Maren Benedict

See you tomorrow with a Throwdown Challenge (that I still haven't made yet -yikes!)

Jacksonbelle Tuesday...late...as usual!

Today for the Jacksonbelle Embellishments Design Team Challenge anything goes and that is a very good thing because I was out of town this weekend and came home to a sick kid, and didn't get a chance to make a card, so I'm using a card I made last week when I was in the sponging mood!

I must thank Nancy Morgan and Nancy Littrell (click her name to see her card) for this card, as they both had outside influences on it! Last week I went to a SU! workshop and I met Nancy Morgan. She had some great projects and one of the cards was a card designed by Nancy Littrell. I LOVE going to SU! workshops because I learn so much or I am reminded of a long-forgotten technique. I LOVE to try other people's styles and techniques so I usually try to make exactly what the demonstrator is showing because it is usually something I wouldn't be able to come up with on my own and I always end up loving it!

Okay, so back to the card! I started out with a piece of white cardstock for the card front and a piece of scratch paper that was wider than the white cardstock, on one end I tore it, and on the other end, I punched a circle in it. I took this punched circle (the positive) and used repositionable adhesive and stuck it on the card front where I wanted the moon to be. Then I placed the torn-edge of the scratch paper about 1/3 down the white card front and began sponging. I used blues and purples. When I was happy with the sponged sky, I took off the circle (the positive piece) , then I took the scratch paper that I had punched the circle in (so this would be the negative piece) and I stuck that over the white spot that was left underneath the positive circle punch, and then I sponged with yellows and oranges. Could I make it any more confusing? After all of the sponging, I stamped the Inkadinkado Halloween Trails witch in Black and added a bit of glitter with a Sakura glitter pen. I used oval nesties to cut out the label and sponged the edges just a bit too. I layered a piece of black ribbon and the A Muse sheer yellow ribbon and added the sentiment (The Angel Company). I finished it off with a few Martha Bats! Really, a simple card - but I love the look!

Do check out the other girls and see what they came up with!

Design Team Members
The Queen Bee...Lindsey
Lynda Benden
Amber Hight
Beth Thomas
Broni Holcombe
Dee Jackson
Rachel
Lila Holgate
Maren Benedict

Jacksonbelle Tuesday and Another Inka Contest Sketch

Well here it is, Tuesday again......and I'm still running late! I am proud though - I think I may get this posted by noon! So - back to da'bidness..

You will find Jacksonbelle Embellishments Inkadinkado Contest info here.

Sketch #4

My card.

Please ignore the funky black line on the bottom of the picture - not sure where that came from!

Card Supplies: Patterned Paper: Imaginisce Hallowhimsy - Eeks and Shrieks & Lolly Pop Lizzy. Stamps: Inkadinkado - Birds Gallore and Halloween Trails; and Boo is SU but not sure of the name! Embellishments: MAMI Icon Bling - green (eyes and candy), and Sakura Glitter Pen for all of the dots and to give the bats a bit of bling! The Inkadinkado bat trails stamp in the background is also painted with Coal Shimmerz. Ribbon is May Arts.

Be sure to play along and email your contest submissions to Lynda. (Her email is listed in the link above in contest info). Have fun!

Check out the other girls!

Design Team Members
The Queen Bee...Lindsey
Lynda Benden
Amber Hight
Beth Thomas
Broni Holcombe
Dee Jackson
Elizebeth Neumann
Rachel
Lila Holgate
Maren Benedict

See you tomorrow with another Color Throwdown Challenge!

Jacksonbelle Sketch and Contest

I can't believe it is already week 3 of the Jacksonbelle Embellishments Contest! Please read the contest info here: Contest Rules and Info. You don't have to do much to qualify - just make a card following any of the sketches and email it to Lynda. There are GREAT prizes!

Sketch #3.

If you upload to Splitcoast please use JBE020 so we can find it! We'd love to see what you make!

Here's what I made!

Spooky, isn't it?! I used Inkadinkado Halloween Trails stamp set and Imaginisce paper, Hallowhimsy - Eeks & Shrieks and Lollipop Lizzy. I think the paper is so stinkin cute! I cut the word "Spooky" off of the Eeks & Shrieks, it is even embossed a bit, so the letters are a bit 3D and shiny, and that made it easier to cut! I stamped the spiders from Halloween Trails on the background of the card with Black ink, then I used a glitter pen and highlighted some of the spiders and the web, it gave it sort of a spooky sparkle. For the main image, I stamped Versamark on glossy white cardstock, then I sponged it with black ink - I guess you'd call this Versamark resist. I hardly ever do techniques - so I never remember the names. I thought it sort of made the image a bit more foggy and spooky! After I inked it with black and rubbed it all in, I used a yellow Prismacolor Alcohol Marker to color the moon. I left the card quite simple with layers because I felt that the glitter and technique were quite enough.

Design Team Members
The Queen Bee...Lindsey
Lynda Benden
Amber Hight
Beth Thomas
Broni Holcombe
Dee Jackson
Elizebeth Neumann
Rachel
Lila Holgate
Maren Benedict

Thanks for stopping by! Be sure to enter the contest - and let me know if you do so I can look for your card!

Jacksonbelle Tuesday AND a Contest!!

September already!!?! Wow! Summer sure went fast and the kids are back at school! Now we get to kick off the fall with a Jacksonbelle Embellishments Inka Contest - and the prizes are amazing!!

The grand prize winner will receive a $50.00 Gift Certificate to Lindsey’s store! 2nd Place, $30.00 and 3rd place $15.00! All winners will receive a goodie bag in addition to their gift certificate!! If you decide to play each week, creating a card based on all 4 sketches, your name will be entered into a random drawing and THAT person will also win a goodie bag!

SO, you are probably wondering what you have to do!? You have to use Inkadinkado Stamps (newer...from this Spring-until now) as well as our sketches that will be posted each Tuesday! You can enter as many times as you'd like! You are also free to post anywhere you'd like! We will post coordinating Keywords for the sketches if you are posting on Splitcoaststampers, this way we will all be able to see your card(s)!

You MUST however email every card to Lynda (lynda.benden@gmail.com).

You will have until Wednesday, Sept. 30th at midnight (EST) to get your cards in to Lynda. After that, the Design Team and Lindsey will need a few days to decide on the winners! Be sure to check the Design Team’s blog each week for LOTS of inspiration using the weekly sketch!!!

Sketch 1 - JBE018

Sounds great, doesn't it?! So please please play along! I can't wait to see all of the submissions!

Here's what I came up with!

I know, it is not the best picture - but it had to do - my batteries died! I used Basic Grey Ambrosia paper, which I sadly fear is already gone. (If you ask nicely, Lindsey may just order some more though!) I was so excited to see that I could use this as Halloween paper! I stamped the Inka witch on shimmery cardstock with black ink and then touched up just a bit with some Beeswax Shimmers so it looks a bit like the jack-o-lanterns and the skulls are glowing. I used the cutest Martha punch, the bag! Isn't it darling? I don't normally like bats - but this one is too cute! I layered the bats, the first layer is completely glued to the card, and the second layer (painted in Coal Shimmerz of course) is only glued on the body so the wings can move - I love it! And the flowers.....Oh the flowers! You know already that I have officially married the Mr. White Prima to the Mrs. Shimmerz Paint, right? Well - I just couldn't let Mr. White Prima go on being naked and lonely any more. He met Mrs. Shimmerz only a few weeks ago and he will NEVER ever be the same again! I colored the Orange one with an alcohol marker first, then painted it with Beeswax Shimmerz (in all my Shimmerz, I don't have orange yet!!). The greyish one is painted with Coal Shimmerz, and the black one was colored with a black alcohol marker first, then painted with Shimmerz. I LOVE that you can create just about any color flower with markers and Shimmerz and little white naked prima of course!

Thanks for stopping by today - be sure to check out the other JB-Girls for inspiration for your contest creation!
The Queen Bee...Lindsey
Lynda Benden
Amber Hight
Beth Thomas
Broni Holcombe
Dee Jackson
Elizebeth Neumann
Erin McKinney
Rachel Hope
Lila Holgate
Maren Benedict

A butterfly punch...finally!

So last weekend I finally was able to pick up a much-coveted Martha S. Butterfly punch and I'm thrilled with it!

I also got to use my JustRite Stamper for the first time! I asked my husband to read it, and of course, he read it wrong, but then he said, once he read it wrong he knew to read it the other way - so maybe I need to work on how to word things! Oh well! I painted the Prima flowers with - you guessed it - Shimmerz! Surprised? I just can't get enough of that stuff! I punched the butterflies out with cardstock and one layer with vellum, I love the added dimension they give the card - even more than just flowers.

Don't you LOVE those flowers! I just can't get over their beauty!! Thanks for looking! Have a great weekend!

Jacksonbelle Embellishments Tuesday Challenge

I always look forward to Tuesdays - Jacksonbelle Tuesdays! I love to hop around to each design team members blog and see what they came up with and to see what products they used. I usually find more things to add to my ever-growing shopping list at Jacksonbelle Embellishments. This week we all CASEd Erin. I love it when we do this because I love to look at the original card and then the CASEd card and see the similarities and the differences. I looked through Erin's gallery and found this card. I looked at it several times and then CASEd it by memory. I like doing it by memory because something from the card always sticks in my mind but I don't end up with a card looking as if I truly copied it!

The elements that stuck in my mind that I tried to recreate were three buttons on the top and bottom, left and right sides of a rectangle and possibly some layered strips of patterned paper in the background, and now that I've made my card (casing Erin by memory) I feel like my card looks nothing like hers! Yes, it has the three buttons...a rectangle and some strips of paper - but really - it is quite different! Perhaps my memory isn't as good as I thought it was!

And now for the Shimmerz! Isn't it gorgeous? I stamped the Lizzie Anne Designs ballerina on watercolor paper with Stazon and then I painted them in with Shimmerz! I thought it was soo pretty and appropriate for these precious little girls! I also painted a thin line around the outside edge of the paper to frame it just a bit. I used Pink, Beeswax, and Olive Green.

I'm adore these Prima flowers and I'm in love with Shimmerz - so much so that I would like to marry it, but since I'm already married and I just don't think my husband would approve- I've decided that Shimmerz and Primas make a better couple! I bought the huge pack of white naked Prima flowers just so I could paint them all!! Don't you LOVE them too??!! They are like candy!! It's probably a good thing that Shimmerz isn't scented because I'd have a hard time not tasting these little treats!

Be sure to check out the other design team member's blogs to see how they CASEd Erin!

The Queen Bee...Lindsey
Lynda Benden
Amber Hight
Beth Thomas
Broni Holcombe
Dee Jackson
Elizebeth Neumann
Erin McKinney
Lila Holgate
Maren Benedict

Rachel Hope

See you tomorrow for another Color Throwdown!

Splatter Painting with Shimmerz!

Well, I've shared with you two of the three new Limited Edition Shimmerz Autumn colors and today I'm going to show you the third color, and "sort of" a fourth color! So you've seen Rustic Red and Beeswax - and now Sagebrush! It is a beautiful soft green! I had so much fun with these cards - I went a little crazy and made tons! Sp how about those leaves? Do they not knock your socks off or what? I think they are gorgeous!

Guess what I used to stamp those rich autumn leaves?? Well, yes, I used a stamp, actually two, but I also used Shimmerz! I know I've shown you stamping with Shimmerz before here, but that was when I used chalk ink on the stamp as well as Shimmerz; these leaves (the first layer anyway) were stamped only with Shimmerz!

I used Kitchen Sink Stamps 3-step Autumn Squirrel set. It really is a great fall/autumn set! It has the squirrel, some great acorns and beautiful leaves! To create these leaves, I only used the first and last steps of the 3-step leaf. The first step is a solid leaf. I took a paint brush, dipped it in the Shimmerz and just splotched it all around the stamp and stamped! I love that each leaf turned out different - just like in nature, some splotchy, some light, some dark. Once they dried, I stamped the last step of the leaf with Timber Stazon. Then I took my paint brush, dipped it in Shimmzers, and then flicked it with my finger, which created the splatters; I did this with each of the LE colors on each card (cleaning my paintbrush between colors!). I even did envelopes to match!

When I was making patterned leaf Shimmerz paper, I did card-front sizes, and then when I made the card, I cut them in half and had enough for two cards! I did the same for the individual leaves and cut them out. I thought the Shimmerized leaf paper gorgeous enough that the card didn't need much so I kept them very simple! All ribbon is May-Arts double-sided satin ribbon - I used two different colors and their reversed sides!

For the "sort-of" fourth color, the multi-colored leaves, I first painted the stamp with Beeswax, then I quickly added some Rustic Red around the edges of the leaf, then I stamped it! I could sit and look at these Shimmerz-Stamped leaves all day long!

Warning: When splatter painting, prepare for everything within 1-2 feet to be splattered - including your face! If you don't want it splattered then move it or cover it up or maybe just don't flick so hard! I went a little splatter crazy - I had it everywhere! It was quite funny!

Thanks so much for looking! If you've been using Shimmerz on a project - I'd love to see! Link it up!

Jacksonbelle Tuesday

Today's Jacksonbelle Embellishment challenge was to use the new Cosmo Cricket paper, Jack's World. I must admit, I was a little nervous about it (before I actually had the paper in hand). I sometimes have such a hard time with 'boy' cards and with this being "Jack's World" I was assuming it was going to be very boyish - Boy was I wrong! I mean, Yes, it is boyish, but it is actually quite beautiful as well and very versatile, and I love the sort of aged look it has. There are great colors and designs in this pack! I was relieved to be able to go girly with the boy-named paper!

I used Stampin Up! So Safron and the new Riding Hood Red paper. The plaid paper is from Jack's World. I used the white Prima flowers and painted them with Shimmerz paint - LOVE the look it gave them! The Shimmerz colors I used were Royal Red and the Limited Edition Beeswax. I first painted the red one, then I wiped off my paint brush a bit and dipped it in the Beeswax and colored the one that looks a bit orange - I didn't get all of the red off, so it made a new color! Then I cleaned the brush and painted the Beeswax one! I love that the flowers kept their shape! I think they look awesome! I added some buttons and I used a white gel pen to make the polka dots on the biggest one! I stamped the Inkadinka Birds Galore bird on So Safron with Versamagic Red ink, painted it a bit with the Royal Red Shimmerz, then stamped it. It was still a bit wet, so I was able to put some clear embossing powder on it and emboss it! I wasn't quite fast enough with the idea so it isn't perfectly embossed - but it still looks pretty good! I'll have to play with that technique a bit more! I cut it out and added a bit of white gel pen to it as well. The sentiment is also Inkadinkado. I used Daisy Ds Rub-on tape for the 'stitches' and a bit more of the white gel pen for more stitches!

Check out the other girls!

The Queen Bee...Lindsey
Lynda Benden
Amber Hight
Beth Thomas
Broni Holcombe
Dee Jackson
Elizebeth Neumann
Erin McKinney
Lila Holgate
Maren Benedict

And check me out again tomorrow for the Throwdown!

Color Throwdown Week 5

Hi all! Welcome to week 5 of the Color Throwdown! It was my turn to pick the colors...so here they are! You likey?? I do! Hmm, maybe that's why I picked them!? Or maybe I picked them because they matched some paper I'd been wanting to use for a while! : ) My true color pick was for Marigold Morning, but since that is old news, I thought I'd better throw a more current color in the mix...so I went with So Safron (I used Marigold Morning cuz I have a couple pieces stashed away!).

The card.

I've loved this Inka stamp since the first time I saw it at Jacksonbelle Embellishments, but I didn't order right away. I kept asking myself..."Self? How many bird stamps does one girl need?" Obviously the answer is LOTS because it just so happened to land in my shopping cart as I was rushing like a crazy woman through the Inka aisles trying not to be sidetracked....I was only there to pick up one clear set (Winter Birds - ack! More birds!) and a bit of Shimmerz! To be honest, I didn't even know that I liked birds! The patterned paper is from Me and My Big Ideas, and I think I've had it for nearly 3 years! It was a small scrapbooking kit that was gifted to me. It came with stickers, rub-ons, paper, all sorts of goodies. The sentiment is a sticker from the package as well. I thought it went well with the Inka image! I was also thrilled to find that I actually had matching buttons! I stamped the image on white shimmery paper, colored it with Prismacolor pencils, and then I painted over the birds with a matching Shimmerz Glitter Paint. I used Pink and Sunflower. Then I added a bit of dots with my white gel pen - I even added it to the sticker. (I was going to link the products so you could see them for yourself, but JB isn't working right now - or blogger, not sure which - sorry.)

And is Shimmerz too!

Thanks for checking out the Throwdown today! I hope you play along - and be sure to link it up here!

Jacksonbelle Tuesday

Good morning girlies! You should like the color challenge Lila picked for today's Jacksonbelle Embellishment's Design Team! Pink plus anything!! Well, I love pink....so this one was an easy one! I've really been wanting to use this Inkadinkado, Silhouette Deer Trail, stamp that I've had for several weeks now - and I know I missed the Christmas in July, but we've had such an ugly summer here in Bandon, I felt like I could get away with Winter Greetings in August!

I really wanted to showcase this image because I think it is gorgeous just by itself, so I kept the layout very simple and only added the layered prima poinsettia, the ribbon and the sentiment and thought that was just enough!

I'm hoping that you can see the shimmer and shine in the picture because I stamped the deer with Shimmerz! Yup! I did! I know that I've read that you can stamp solid images with Shimmerz by painting it directly onto the stamp, but I wasn't sure how well it would work with this image...it is solid, but it also has quite a lot of detail. So, I first inked up the stamp with just a little bit of Pink Petunia Versamagic ink (a chalk-like ink), then I used a paint brush and dabbed on Burgundy Shimmerz, then I added just a bit more ink but made sure I didn't wipe off too much Shimmerz (my ink pad is now a bit shimmery, but I honestly don't mind!) then stamped! I am THRILLED with the results! It still maintained the detailed image with the pink ink, but it is oh so shimmery now! Yes, I could have just added the Shimmerz later with a paint brush, but I know that I can't paint that well in such intricate and tiny areas, so it had to come straight from the stamp!

Be sure to check out the other girls' stuff! I bet it will be pink!
The Queen Bee...Lindsey
Lynda Benden
Amber Hight
Beth Thomas
Broni Holcombe
Dee Jackson
Elizebeth Neumann
Erin McKinney
Lila Holgate
Maren Benedict

Thanks for stopping by! Tomorrow is a new Color Throwdown Challenge... and it was my week to pick!

A boy Turtle!

And how do I know it's a boy? Cuz I colored it blue, that's how! Clever, ah?

My Man Turtle

and his shiny shell.

Doesn't that shell look pretty cool? First I colored it with a blue prismacolor marker, then I painted it with Shimmerz, Silver Bells, then I used Crystal Effects on it, just on the bottom section and on the circles. I love that the Crystal Effects doesn't mess with the Shimmerz and it gives the shell all sorts of life-like dimension! For the sentiment, I used the SU word window punch; I punched it regularly, then took that piece and slid it back into the punch and punched it smaller. This is another turtle from Turtle Crossing by Tricia Santry Studio- Fiskars. I think I'm going to have to get the frog set too - they are just too cute!

Have a great weekend!

Thursday, already?

I just can't believe that it is already Thursday! This week flew by!

Last weekend, while I was out of town, I managed to fit in one small scrapbooking/stamping store - my kids allowed me 5 minutes - I took 6! I had been looking at this stamp set at an online store somewhere and when I saw it at the store I grabbed it and ran! Well, I paid for it first, then ran! I think it is very cute! It is called Turtle Crossing by Tricia Santry Studio, a line from Fiskars. I was happy to only pay 8.50 and no shipping! I thought the turtles would be fun to color but honestly they were a lot harder than I had imagined! I'm just not very good with shading with my prismacolor markers. I will try Gamsol and Prismacolor pencils next time! I seem to do a little bit better with those!

The Card.

I stamped the main image with Palette Noir and colored the turtles with Prismacolor Markers. Then I cut them out and painted over each one with Shimmerz. I used Green Olive, Pumpkin and Pink. I stamped the image again, colored the turtle heads and then layered the shells using dimensionals. I'm not the best cutter in the world, so I cheated and used a tiny butterfly punch for the butterflies rather than cutting them out! You can see in the close-up view that the punch isn't exactly perfect, so where the white showed through, I just filled it in with a black marker - a bit cheesy but it does the job! I punched the sentiment out with a circle punch, but I didn't have a scallop punch that was the right size, so I took the SU! scallop punch and cut it up and made it smaller, taping it to the back of the "smile" circle - I thought I was quite clever! Then I went CRAZY! I went crazy with my Zig pen and made dots all over the place. I even put dots on the patterned paper in the background of the card! (which happens to be Prima Paper, Urban Cosmos). I even used Black Stickles on the turtle shells to give it even more dimension! I added a little Martha Stewart Ribbon to tie it all together! I'm quite pleased with the card actually - it has such a funky whimsical look to it! I think the turtle shells would make really cute mushroom caps! Now for the turtle heads....???

Thanks for stopping by! I will post a blue turtle tomorrow! He's really cute too!

Splitcoast Sketch Challenge

I haven't been able to do a Splitcoast Stampers sketch challenge for weeks! I was thrilled to get a chance last night!

Sketch Challenge 187.

I used Inkadinkado Bird's Galore for the main image and a rub-on for the sentiment. I stamped the bird with Timber Stazon then colored it in with Green Olive Shimmerz and Pink Shimmerz. You can read more about the Shimmerz Glitter Paint here. The patterned paper is from Memory Box. I probably should have put the main image up just a bit higher, but I really wanted the pretty branch to show on the patterned paper. The flowers are Prima flowers from the Essentials 4 pack. I think this is a great sketch - can't wait to try it again!

Jacksonbelle Embellishments Tuesday Challenge

It's another anything-goes challenge! I made this card last week with a particular friend in mind; I'm just really bad about mailing/giving card (yes, I know, that's crazy, since I make them all of the time) but I'm hoping to mail it out in the next few days!

The Card.

I don't know that I've ever used this color combo before. I was a bit nervous about using this yellow and pink together (So Safron and Pretty in Pink), but really, I think it worked out quite well! Of course, I LOVE the Basic Grey paper, Sugared, and I got the colors from that paper, so really, it can't be that bad! I've been seeing some great use of buttons lately, which I am thrilled about as I have a good little stash of them! It seems that embellishment fads come and go, so I guess if you hoard (I mean hold) onto the embellishments long enough they are bound to come back! This is one of those cute little Inkadinkado stamp sets; I think they are so fun! I colored the image with my Prismacolor alcohol markers. I stamped the duck's head twice, cut it out and popped it with some dimensionals to give it some depth. The ribbon is SU pink taffeta; it ties beautifully, although I didn't tie it too well! (Boy, I really wish that bow was a bit straighter!) The Chocolate Chip cardstock looks a bit black in the photo.

I used Sunflower Shimmerz to color the bill and Pink Shimmerz for the flower. (Okay, I do agree - it is a four-leaf clover, but for this card I made it a pink flower!) You can find more information about Shimmerz at Shimmerzpaints.blogspot.com.

Look at the Shimmerz!

Be sure to check out the other design team blogs today and see what they came up with!

Design Team Members
The Queen Bee...Lindsey
Lynda Benden
Amber Hight
Beth Thomas
Broni Holcombe
Dee Jackson
Elizebeth Neumann
Erin McKinney
Lila Holgate
Maren Benedict

While you are out visiting them be sure to check out Amber's PC Gallery Idol submission. She made the Top 10! She's got a link on her blog where you can vote! Her card is great!

Also, be sure to check out Jacksonbelle Embellishments! Lindsey has been getting plenty of visits from her good-lookin UPS man! You will find lots of new Inkadinkado stamps, acrylic and wood mounted Halloween and Christmas stamps and they are so cute! She also got some of the new Cosmo paper in and more Shimmerz! Oh, and she also is now carrying Cuttlebug Embossing folders!

Thanks for stopping by! Have a great Tuesday!