A Birthday Card and a Bear Called Jack

I've been super swamped lately with "house" stuff.  Seriously would consider a tiny home if I could have a second one for my crafts!  ;)

Thank goodness for a back-log of projects I made with the Close to My Heart Jack Cardmaking Stamp and Die set.  This bear.  I cannot explain my love--because bears are not really high on my list of creatures in real life.  Not by a long shot.  What doesn't kill you makes you stronger--but bears, they will kill you!  I like to think my fear is a "healthy" fear.  ;)

Anyhow, this little guy who I just like to call Jack is SOOOO incredibly versatile!  And if you know my crafty self, versatile is a must.

I am definitely not what I would call an experienced "artist" when it comes to coloring, but we can't all be good at everything, so I'm willing to cut myself some slack.  Luckily, the ShinHan Touch Twin markers make it enjoyable and the results smooth themselves out to a point. I like the Mahogany for his fur. My go to ink for coloring stamped images with no embossing is Memento.  Always.

This set mixes so easily with others since this little guy has adjustable arms--he can hold virtually any item!  I used the candle from the Sweet Birthday Stamp and Die set.  (PLEASE NOTE:  You will want to wait to purchase this one if you haven't yet!  It will be available in August as a set with the die included.  Only the stamp set is currently available.  I know it will be tempting to get this one during Stampaganza right now, but you will NOT be able to purchase the dies separately later, only in the set!!!)

One of my new favorite easy-button techniques is attaching burlap ribbon with the Mini Stapler...

I also used one of my favorite card kits right now...Workshops Your Way Let's Party.  I just love this sentiment for the inside...

The papers I used on this one come in the Jack Paper Pack (mmmmm, those trees!) and the Let's Party Kit.  I will have some more Jack to show you later this week!  :)

Never let anyone dull your sparkle!

Only in July!

Buy two get one free!!!!!!  Really!

Makover Monday: Let's Party (Okay!)

Happy Monday!

It's been quite a few Mondays since I posted a Makeover Monday so let's put an end to that streak today, shall we?

I used Close to My Heart's Let's Party Workshop Your Way Kit to create this uber easy birthday card...with my own twist of course!

Here's the pattern in the kit...

 ...and here's my twist!

I wanted to "man it up" a bit so I reversed the Prickly Pear pattern paper from the coral chevron to the blue striped side.  Then I used the blue and white twine from the Fundamentals  Enchantment Ribbon Pack.

The green sequins looked good to me!  ;)

I kept all the inks the same as the kit instructions (Lagoon, Sapphire, and Sweet Leaf), just leaving the "happy birthday" sentiment uncolored on mine. 

I've said it before, and I'll say it a hundred more times--versatility in my crafty toys is a MUST! These Workshop Your Way Kits provide just the right amount of "no thinking" with all the endless possibilities still out there!   ;)

Thanks for popping in!  :)

Almost time to say good-bye to Hello Foxy!  ;)

Freshly Made Jawsome!

Whew!  Just when I was on a roll yesterday, my internet decided to conk out...but it's back in business this morning, so lets get this thing posted!

I simply CANNOT get enough of this little guy right now...he's just THAT jawsome.  I combined the current challenges from Lawn Fawnatics and Freshly Made Sketches to give myself a good excuse to play with him again!  ;)

I also found a GREAT place to take some shots of my creations!  I don't have a dedicated space yet for this purpose, but this is the best I have found yet!

As you can see, I flipped the FMS sketch on its side so I could incorporate that fabulous Word Bubble Border die.  This was the springboard for my entire card!  :)

I haven't used my watercolors as much as I would like, so I was just trying to get a nice and subtle ombre of color in the ocean water.  I also tried a little water splatter on the finished watercolor background.  I'll have to play a bit more to get the results I wanted...I think it was too dry already.

See the layer of lined vellum that mats the watercolor?  Love that subtle addition...

So, this inside sentiment goes against every one of my "mom" instincts, (and I can't count the number of times I have told the girls to not use that word) but I just could not resist!!!

Isn't it PERFECT!?!?!  Duh!  Too fun.

Thanks for popping in to take a peek!  :)

Here is a list of my supplies for this one:

Close to My Heart products with links to my website
Value Pack White Card Bases with Envelopes
Uptown Fundamentals (striped vellum sheet)
Prickly Pear Sequins
Archival Ink
Watercolor Paints
Watercolor Paper
Watercolor Brushes
Waterbrush Small

Other Products:
MFT Stitched Rectangle Dies
Lawn Fawn Duh-Nuh Stamps and Dies
Lawn Fawn Word Bubble Border Die
Lawn Fawn Ocean Waves Accents
Lawn Fawn Let's Polka Sequins
Pretty Pink Posh Sequins
Copics Sketch T0, T3, O
Memento Ink Tuxedo Black

Good-bye, Mojo Monday!

Oh my goodness what a SHOCKER!  When Julee announced that Mojo 500 would be her final Mojo Monday sketch challenge my jaw totally hit the floor.  I completely understand her two little precious reason, though.  ;)

Thank you, Julee, for providing us with so many wonderful sketches to jump start our mojo!

Mojo was one of the very first "challenge" blogs that I discovered through my other crafty friends after I became a Close to My Heart Consultant.  Let's just say I was quickly hooked on sketches!  I have had the joy of winning a couple of different stamp sets, and my Verve collection has somehow outgrown it's drawer...no idea how that happened.  ;) So I went back and found my very first Mojo Monday post when I played along with sketch 249...so promise you won't click, but it is HERE, lol.  Wow that was a long time ago! My VERY favorite entry (go ahead and click, lol) is THIS one from all the way back in January of 2013!  Or maybe it's THIS one.  I love them both!!!

I guess I can't stall any longer reminiscing, so on to the final sketch!!!

Now, I recall receiving these papers and ribbon with my Mojo order a while back--and there was some new challenge to use them for...but oh my goodness, I had no time to play along and now I have no idea what they were for, lol.  I decided it would be fitting to use them for this sketch along with the Blessings and Sunny Days Verve stamp sets and dies.

Those white dots work beautifully with all the other color here...

I happened to have some perfect paper pairings that complemented the two pattern papers I was working with...a Juniper wood grain paper from Jack that I used for the sentiment and a scalloped lace zip strip from one of the Prickly Pear 12 x 12 papers that runs along the ribbon.

I also glittered up the flower and button with the two Shimmer Brushes offered by Close to My Heart.  Can you see it?

Well, the time has come to say good-bye to Mojo Monday...but I'm hoping it is more of an "until we meet again!"  ;)  (sniff, sniff)

Happy Wedding Day Card

I cannot believe how back-logged I am in sharing my pics lately, lol!  I guess I am spending way more time stamping than blogging...which isn't necessarily a bad thing, eh?  ;)

OK, so here is a super quick yet beautiful wedding card I made for my daughter to take along to her BFF's mom's wedding.  Lucky me had a bunch of beautiful flowers from the Ellen Hutson Courage set already stamped and cut just waiting for me to "plant!" 

I combined some paper and sequins from the Prickly Pear Paper suite from Close to My Heart with the flowers, but made sure to keep them the center of attention.  My heart thin cut was an easy way to center the sentiment from Happy To Be Friends on this one!  Oh how I adore this font! Next time I think I will stamp the "Happy" in another color or a second generation from the "wedding day" part of the sentiment to make a little more clear.  Definitely didn't have time for a re-do on this day, lol.

By the way....it was the PERFECT day for a wedding!!!

I'm linking up with the Ellen Hutson June Mix It Up Challenge for the first time.  Kind of a new discovery to me, so I'm pretty excited!