Dogwood Blossoms

Appropriately the theme for this week's Pattie's Creations challenge is Easter.  I associate Dogwood blossoms with Easter time because they were always blooming right about that time when I was growing up.  So for this Easter challenge, I've chosen the Dogwood Branch digi as the focal point of my card.

I've colored the image with Copic markers and added Sparkle N Sprinkle's Sunny Daze glitter to the flower centers.  The sentiment is one I created on my computer and printed on vellum.  Since ink on vellum stays wet longer, I covered it with Clear embossing powder and heat set it.

Pearls were added to the corners of the sentiment (which also hides the glue dot on the back) and a bit of twisted ribbon is layered between the main panel and the Lacey Dots border (from Die-Versions).  I adhered the ribbon with 1/8" piece of double sided tape.  Since it is twisted, bits of the adhesive were left uncovered here and there.  A great way to cover up the sticky areas is to cover it with a semi-transparent glitter.  I covered it with Cloud Nine velvet glitter, which is a micro fine glitter.  It gives it just a hint of sparkle too.


I created the handmade dogwood blossom after viewing this video tutorial.  I improvised a bit since I don't own a balloon punch, but I do own several sizes of balloon dies from Lifestyle Crafts  :-).   (Bet you never would have guessed it was made from a balloon shape.)  I painted Twinkling H2Os over each petal and allowed to dry before assembling.  The center of the blossom is covered with Art Glitter Gala Glitz (gold) and the leaf is a Spellbinders die (Foliage).

You have two weeks to upload your Easter project to the PCDC Blog.  Be sure and visit the rest of the team to see what they've created for you as well.

Happy Easter!

A Dozen Roses

Here is a quick and easy Valentine's card using the Die-Versions A Dozen Roses die and a couple of rubber stamps.  I die cut the image, colored it with various shades of Twinking H2O's and stamped the cute cupid and a row of hearts along the bottom.  Like I said, quick and easy.

Cheery Lights Mailbox

It's time for another fun challenge from Stamping with the Dragon.  Our sponsor is Meljen's Designs and the theme is Bling it Christmas.  We want you to show us your Christmas Bling.  The winner will receive four images from Meljen's store.

I chose the Cheery Lights Mailbox  to create a fun winter/Christmas card.  Since the theme is Bling it Christmas, I chose a slightly different way to show lots of bling:  I used Creative Inspirations paints and Twinkling H2O's.  Both have so much bling and sparkle in person and are so fun to use.  I also used a Snow Writer (thanks Tammy) for the snow and added bits of glitter to it while it was still wet.

Here's a close-up so you can see what I'm talking about.  If you follow my blog, you know that I describe Creative Inspirations paints as "bling in a bottle" and it's so true!  And Twinkling H2O's live up to their name - they really do twinkle.

The background was created by using a Cheery Lynn Designs die.  I've found that I can emboss with these dies by using my embossing plate and mat with my Grand Calibur machine.  How fun is that? Two for the price of one.  I don't know if this works with other die manufacturers, but luckily, these have not cut my embossing mat when I run them through.  (What a great discovery.)

I also wanted to remind everyone that Stamping with the Dragon is having a Design Team call.  You can read all about it HERE, plus you get a free Stamping Dragon Designs image to work with.  You have until 12/23/11 to submit your application.  Good luck to all (and don't be afraid to submit your work).

Now it's your turn to show us your Bling for Christmas.  You have two weeks to upload your creation to the Stamping with the Dragon blog.  Can't wait to see all your shiny  Christmas bling.

Under the Sea

NEW week, NEW challenge at AiFactory.    The NEW challenge is to use something NEW on your project!  Don't forget to tell us what it is!  You have until 11:59EST on Wednesday June 15th.   No back linking will be accepted but you are welcome to combine with other challenges.  We would really love for you to use one of our images although it is not a requirement.  Do check out all the great stuff we have in our store.  


The design team is using the NEW Mermaid digital stamp collection for your inspiration.  I combined four of the images from the set to make my project.  I also flipped a couple of them (another great thing about digital stamps - you can flip, re size, place them in front or behind each other).  I also colored my images with Twinkling H2O's for an iridescent look.  After coloring, I fussy cut the images out so I could use some handmade mulberry paper for the background.


To complete the project, Spellbinder's Grand Labels One (#4,6) were used to cut out the mulberry paper and to make my frame.  I pop dotted the frame so it would look a bit like an aquarium.  


Here's a different angle, so you can see all the dimension and all the shimmer.  Plus, I didn't adhere every part of the image.  As I was fussy cutting the sea weed, it curled a little.  I liked that look and thought the best way to capture it was to only adhere a small portion of each piece.

Be sure to see the other design team member's inspirations.  They are really cool and hopefully will give you some great ideas.

Driftin' Denton

Today is the day for the Guest Designer challenge at DTD.  Keep reading for more info about this.

Driftin' Denton is a dude by Bonibleaux Designs and he has no worries; he's doing his best to simplify his life - by going to his favorite fishing hole!  Little does he know it, but Sashimi and Sushi II are watching him sleep.  (Both of these cuties can be found in the Digi sets at the DTD store.) 

I colored everything with Copic markers and then came back with LuminArte's Twinkling H2Os for the sky, boat, water, and the fish.  They really shimmer in person!  I cut out and pop dotted Sashimi and Sushi II (he looks really bored) for added dimension.  Here's a better look at all that sparkle and shimmer.
 How cool is that? 

The paper and stickers are from Creative Memories and I've had them in my stash for quite a while.  I also pop dotted the stickers so they looked more realistic as well.  The philosophy tag, "simplify" is by Tim Holtz.   I added a little Smooch Moonlight ink to the tag to make the letters stand out better.

Copics used: E07, R89    YR20, YR12, YR23, YR21    B91, B93, B97   yg93, YG97, C3, N5    E00, E01, E11, R20    R17, R29, W1    BG15, BG45, BG18

Now, there's a lot going on over at Dude Time Doodles!  It's even easier to remember what's going on (you can always look at my side bar to see the events calendar too) - all the challenges will be weekly and are on Wednesdays. 

DTD Calendar of Events

Monthly Challenges

1st Wednesday -
Sketch Challenge

2nd Wednesday -
GDT Challenge

3rd Wednesday -
Inspiration Challenge

LAST Wednesday -
NEW Release Blog Hop

Since today is the 2nd Wednesday of the month, that means it's time for you to head on over to DTD and submit your project to be our Guest Designer for next month!  You get to see all the inner workings of this fun group of Dudettes! 

Twinkling H20's

This is the final version of an image I teased you with in this post.  The image is from Stampendous and I purchased mine here.  There are so many possible color combinations with this stamp - spring, summer, fall.  Winter would be a little more challenging - maybe Flower Soft or Liquid Applique?  (Watch for more posts with this image.)

I used Twinking H2O water color cakes  to color in everything.  In order to get more shading, I let each layer dry before adding another layer of color.  Unfortunately, it's really hard to photograph how shimmery this card turned out, but it's really pretty in person.

If you haven't tried Twinking H2O's, they are very cool to use.  I used an aqua brush and got a small section of the pot wet.  Then I began painting my image.  These cake pots will last for years, because such a little amount goes a long way.  Once you have finished with that color, just put the top back on and it will be ready the next time you decide to use it. 

Here is a side view, so you can see the shimmer a little better.

Lady in Blue

I am continually practicing my blending techniques with Copic markers.  This is the first of three of the same design.  In addition to Copics, I also used Twinking H20's to highlight her skirt (the pic doesn't show it though).  There are four different shades of blue in her dress, plus the H20's.  She takes a while, but she's lots of fun to color.  For her background, I used Spellbinders to cut out her outline and then airbrushed a couple shades of yellow to make her pop a bit more.  Hope you like her.