"Asian Influence..........." Midnight Madness Sketch Challenge #50 and "A Spoonful of Sugar " Challenge #101 3D

Welcome back and a happy Sunday to you all! This weeks card was created for MMSC and "A Spoonful of Sugar" The details can be found HERE and HERE. This weeks MMSC sketch challenge was really slow coming together for me. It wasn't til Saturday that I finally had a clear clue as to where I was going with this one. I wanted all the circles to tie in with the large center circle and finding a stamp set with that many related elements was a challenge in itself! I finally settled on Flourishes "Waterlily" (along with a few "helper" stamps). I hope you like the end result.....

I stamped the center waterlily twice, once as a background and again for the top lily. The top lily I colored and then cut around some of the petals so I could bend then out, thus creating a 3D effect. Gold Stickles were applied to the petals for a bit of glitz! See the closeup for a better view. The Koi received a layer of "Smooch Pearlized Top Coat' to give then a shimmer. The Asian letters under the ribbon were scanned and cut out from a Chinatown newspaper saved from a trip to NYC.

The details:

Stamps:   Flourishes "Waterlily", Inkadinkado (Asian coin, symbol and lady), CHF Bamboo backgrounder

Paper:     Neenah Solar Crest #120, SU Groovy Guava and Kiwi Kiss, SU Ivory

Ink:         Momento tuxedo black, SU Groovy Guava and Kiwi Kiss, Copic Markers (see pic below)

Other:     Gold Stickles, Pearls, Copic Spica pen in Peach (on coin), Spellbinders Nestabilities, Copic
               airbrush (circle background shading)

Thanks for having a look and a great week to everyone!

"By the Sea" ........MMSC Sketch Challenge #49

Welcome back! I hope everyone has had a relaxing weekend.... This weeks "Midnight Madness" sketch challenge featured a "puzzle piece" element. At first I set out to use the pieces themselves but ended up using the "frame" instead. I scanned the image into my KNK die cutter software and traced the outline and puzzle pieces. I next resized the image and cut it out. I actually made two of the pieces really small and covered with glitter they made a nice embellishment for the card. The original sketch and challenge details can me found HERE.  The fame is actually 2 frames glued together. I painted it with Distress crackle paint and when dry distress the edges. Next I sponged on "Faded Jeans" and "Antique Linen " Distress Ink with my Inkssentials blending foam tool. I tried other sponges but this system worked best for adding ink to the crackle surface. To add some sparkle I applied some stardust stickles around the edge of the burlap layer and then covered it with glitter. Its hard to see in the pic. The sky and sand were airbrushed and Antique Linen distress stickles were rubbed into the sand for a beachy textured look. Some hemp sring was colored with a copic marker and glued to the pier.

 The Details:

Stamps:        Inkadinkadoo, There She Goes

Paper:          Neenah Solar Crest 120# (base), Chipboard from AC Moore, Neenah 80# (bird/background)

Ink:              Momento tuxedo black, Distress ink ( Faded Jeans and Antique Lined) Copics (pic below)

Other:          Distress Crackle Paint(picket fence), Shells, MS glitter(smokey quartz), MS branch punch,
                    Shells, Hydrangea petals( from a silk flower AC Moore), hemp twine, Stickles (Antique Linen 
                    and Stardust)


Have a great week and thanks for visiting!

Holly

"At the strike of Midnight!".......MMSC48

Welcome back! I hope everyone had a great weekend and got to relax .... It actually SNOWED Saturday night! Mind you, last weekend it was a record breaking 88 degrees in Rochester, NY. Go figure......This weeks "Midnight Madness Sketch Challenge" (details found HERE) had me pulling out my QuicKutz "Chandelier" die. No other reason than I wanted to use it! The old fashioned ballroom concept came together from there.....and when I think of chandeliers, hanging jewels come to mind.The shoes were made using a Cuttlekids die and shrink plastic, A layer of Viva Decor Glitter Liner in "Holo Iridescent" was applied to the shoes for a glass slipper effect. Lots of great "Viva Decor" products can be purchased HERE.  All the beads on the chandelier were beaded by hand, kinda time consuming but worth the effort I thought. I've given up on clean and simple cards anyways! Just when I thought I couldn't get any more "over the top", I added gold veins to the black floor tiles to simulate marble. I"m hopeless I tell ya! The White panel was stamped with the same gold veins as the floor tiles and then distressed with the Zutter " Distrezz-it-all". I hope you enjoyed a trip to my ballroom......

 Here are the details......

Paper:     Glitz Designs (Glitz Pack "Divalicious" purchased at Hobby Lobby), GP White, SU Black
               Black chipboard for the chandelier die cut.

Ink:         Ranger Distress Ink in "Weathered Wood", Brilliance "Galaxy Gold"

Stamps:   Stampendous "Faux Finish Quad Cube" (gold veins on the black floor tiles)

Other:     QuicKutz Chandelier die, Cuttlekids Shoe die, Crystazzi jewels, head pins, Translucent Shrink
               Plastic, Black Stickles (on chandelier), Viva Decor Glitter Liner in Holo Irridescent, Black ribbon
               and Prima Flower Centers.      


Thanks for stopping by and hope you have a great week!

Holly

"Garden Romance........" Midnight Madness Sketch Challenge #47

A "Happy Easter" to everyone!  Today's challenge lead me on a quest for something "old fashioned and romantic". Imagine a warm summer day a few centuries ago in Greece or Italy. The smell of roses in the air and the sound of dragonflies faintly audible. Feel the sun on your skin........Ok, enough of that! You get the picture. MMSC details can be found HERE.  Seriously, when you see this weeks sketch below you can see how I came up with my idea. The columns were made using a Spellbinders die who's name escapes me that allows you to "build" columns of any height. The set itself has several base, body and top options. When I "HAD TO HAVE IT" I wasn't sure what exactly I was going to do with it but as with most of my purchases they find a purpose eventually. Its hard to see but the columns were given a iridescence by sponging Adirondack metallic acrylic paint dabber in Pearl, with fine crystal glitter sprinkled onto the wet paint. Next they were sponged lightly in the body and on the sides with Ranger distress ink in Vintage Photo. The lattice panels are part of a MS border punch with the scallops cut off. The columns themselves are propped up with dimensionals. The edges of the background DP were distress and glittered. The "vines" were found in the floral section of Joanne Fabrics and cut to fit. The vines and roses are attached with Locktite Super Glue Gel. I use this for all my embellishments. Dries quick and stays on!

The Details:

Stamps:    SU ( Can't remember set), Unknown side pose Dragonfly

Paper:      Neenah Solar Crest #120 (base), DP ( Best Creations   "Craft n Craftin")

Ink:          Momento Tuxedo Black, Ranger Vintage Photo

Other:      MS border punch, Spellbinders die, Roses (Wild Orchid.com), Vine (Joanne Fabrics) Stardust
                Stickles, Copic markers (G21, G24, E33, RV32, RV34), MS glitter "Smoky Quartz", crystals.


Thanks for looking and have a GREAT week!


Holly

DT Call for "Sweet Pea Stampers"

Hello and a happy Monday to all! I'll bet you're amazed to see me on  day other than Sunday..... "Sweet Pea Stampers" is a brand new challenge blog for all stamps from Sweet Pea. The blog and info can be found HERE. A Design Team call went out a few weeks ago and I decided to try my hand. Wish me luck! I have always wanted to be on a design team that echoed my love for a type of image and challenged my passion for thinking outside the box. Any card I have designed has come from a great sketch. The sketch is what gets my creativity moving..... I hope you enjoy my submission.

The details:

Stamps:   Sweet Pea Stamps (ching-chou kuik's "ocean Fantasy"),
                CHF  Tiger Strips Backgrounder 

Paper:     Neenah Solar Crest #80, Coordinations, Bazzil

Ink:         Momento Tuxedo Black, SU Craft Black, Various Copic markers (C0 C3 C5, E000 E02 E11,
               YR20 YR02, RV11 R85, G82)

Other:     MS border punch, Nestabilities Rectangle die, Zing Black glitter EP (tiger stripes) Sizzix embossing
               folder (leopard print), Stickles (stardust) Prima black flourishes, Butterflies from Joanne Fabrics
              wedding section, Silk flowers from Michael's, Clear jewel heart.


Thanks for considering me. Regardless of whether I'm chosen for the DT, I look forward to participating in the weekly challenges!


Holly          

"Hope......." Midnight Madness" Sketch Challenge #46

Wow! This weekend went by too fast! Here is this weeks sketch challenge card for "Midnight Madness" # 46.
My card was inspired by all my friends and family past and present fighting this terrible cancer. Through my art I would like to encourage all to keep fighting on.......The little "Pink Ribbon" charm was fashioned out of Fimo Clay and decorated with a lt. pink crystal. The distressing was done using my new toy the "Distrezz-it-all". It does a wonderful FAST job of distressing the edges of all kinds of paper, cardstock and chipboard. The papers used in this card were of a DP weight. They were not mutilated  at all due to their light wt. I really recommend this tool!

The details are:

Stamps:     SU Illuminations (Hope)

Paper:       SU Ivory, K and CO. DP's

Ink:           SU Sage Shadow, Copic marker R85 (airbrushed frame), Ranger Distress Vintage photo

Other:       MS punch, Spellbinders Oval nestie, Paper Roses and buds, Prima swirl, Fimo clay, Ribbon, Machine stitching, Sahura glaze sparkle pen ("H" in hope)


Thanks for taking a look! See ya next week.....

Holly

"Another Brick in the Wall...." Midnight Madness Sketch Challenge" #45

It's another Sunday!! Gee do ya think I could EVER pick another post day? This weeks sketch challenge made me think immediately of a brick wall. Now, anyone that follows my blog knows a simple paper wall just wouldn't do. I created 2 versions of this wall using embossing paste and a cardstock template. I translated the size of the bricks using a ruler to best fit my square card front. Next I recreated the "sketch" using my KNK Groove die cutter software. I cut the template out of 120# cardstock. This weight gave me a little deeper grid. Using a spatchula (sp), I applied the embossing paste over the entire template/grid and made sure I left some raised sections on each brick to simulate real bricks. The terracotta colored bricks were made by dying the white paste with SU reinkers ( 3 drops really rust, 1 drop chocolate chip). Gesso was painted on some of the terracotta brick for an "old brick" effect. The sketch challenge details can be found HERE.  Below are the 2 versions of my card and a few closeups.

The Details:

Paper:   7 Gypsies "Umbria", SU Really Rust, Neenah Solar Crest #120

Ink:       SU Rally Rust, Ranger "Vintage Photo" and "Rusty Hinge", White Gesso
            Copic Markers ( E95, YR21, YG11, YG99, YG17)

Other:   Prima Roses, MM frame, computer generated sentiment, Sizzix (acetate flourishes), Sizzix vine
             Butterfly from Michael's (airbrushed), Kaiser pearls, airbrushed gems, Stickles (diamond).

Thanks for looking and have a great week!

Holly