Our Creative Corner Sketch Challenge

OCC has challenges each week.  I know I didn't follow it exactly but I've had these stamps from Paper Trey Ink for a long time and been dying to ink them up.  I needed a birthday card for my sister-in-law so thought this would be perfect. 
I used a Cuttlebug folder on the top.  The bottom is a Martha Stewart punch with some ribbon in the middle.  Ink is Certainly Celery.  There are a couple pearls on the Happy Birthday die cut too.  I ended up having to sponge the greeting, something got on it (not ink) and I didn't want to redo it.  Gotta love sponging to cover up things like that!  It's really quite simple but I like it.  It reminds me of spring and since we were forecast to have a nasty storm these past 3 days and possible power outage, I need spring!  Oh, the power outage and storm never did hit.  Thank you California for not sending your worst!  LOL  I think you kept most of the moisture.  I do hope you get a break now. 

Whiff of Joy Challenge

Whiff of Joy (WOJ) has a challenge, use either
4 papers, 3 bling 2 flowers
OR for the challenged like me 3 papers, 2 bling, 1 flower.  I find it hard to use more than one paper since I tend to lean to clean and simple (I'm trying to change a little) and am paper picking challenged.  LOL
Since I was in preparation mode for a forecast storm and possible power outage, I missed the deadline.  Oh well, I still hope you enjoy it!

This is Charlotte from the Medieval collection.  I colored her with copics and used a lot of die cuts to finish it off.  My 2 blings are hard to see.  The first one is the center of flower and the 2nd is a small rhinestone on the basket.  I hope you like it.  It's not exactly what I had pictured but it turned ok.  It is a challenge!  LOL

Sick Moose

Just a quick share today. Here's a card I made for my brother-in-law after he had heart surgery. It's Riley Moose. I did some paper piecing for the bedding and colored with Copics.

Penguins!

This little guy is so cute. He's from Firecracker Designs by Pamela. I did a mirror image with him. First I stamped him with black soot distress inks (they stay moist longer) and embossed him on the cut nestie label. Then I stamped again on my stamp positioner sheet, flipped it over and pressed on it to make the mirror image. The background was masked, sponged and I colored the penguin's scarf and ear muffs with a red Copic and beak with orange, using a lighter color for the mirror image. DP paper is from a Hobby Lobby Christmas package I bought a few years ago. I layered the stamped image on a fleur de lis Spellbinder pendant. I cut out 2 and then cut the bottom off both and put together.
I stamped GOTCHA on a small tag, sponged the edges and hung on the edge of pendant with a red safety pin. It's embellished with a snowflake I got in the Hobby Lobby ornament department and a clip I HAD to have this clip applicator and some clips and never use them! I'm sure no one else does that right?

High Hopes skiing bear

This is another stamp my son got me for Christmas. I just love him, send him links and he knows how to buy things on-line. Unlike my husband...but perhaps that is a good thing!

Anyway, I used a sketch from I saw someplace and had fun with it. I used some My Minds Eye paper. I used a fine line silver pen to outline the inside of the nestie label and the edges of the DP and some Stickles on the snow. What was strange was the silver clear Stickles turned gold but oh well.

Organized...sort of

Well at least as much as I'm going to be for now. Here's a picture BEFORE. YIKES and I didn't even show the workspace...which wasn't there. LOL Look at the bottom shelf, I couldn't find anything, there were tons on embellishments somewhere there. And WHY did I leave my reinkers out on prime shelf space?

I decided to add a couple more brackets, longer shelves and one more up high. It took 2 trips to Walmart to get enough drawer units and 2 trips to Menards (Midwest's Home Depot) to get all I needed.

Here is what it looks like now.










I have all my 'stuff' sorted out and labeled. I found things I totally forgot about and vow to use it. I mean do we really think the craft/card making police will come and arrest us if we use eyelets instead of brads or fibers in place of ribbon?

I am challenging everyone to use what you have instead of buying into the new trends. Use those fancy brads you bought...before they go out of 'style' or that pad of DP before that goes out of style. Have fun.

Another Challenge - Copic source

Our Creative Corner has a Sketch Challenge on Thursday's and some other challenge on Saturdays. I decided to play and incorporate them into 1 card (that's not cheating is it?) So here is the sketch and blue/green color challenge.

My son gave me some High Hopes stamps I've wanted for Christmas and this is the first chance I have had to ink them up. I used Milton moose in his bathrobe and paper pieced the same background paper (My Minds Eye) for his bathrobe. I colored him with Copics.

I'm on a roll with Copics, I ordered a bunch more from Oozak. I love them, free shipping if you order $50 and if you create an account and sign in, they are only $4.25 each for Sketch! Plus they ship FAST, same day. Not affiliated, just happy customer.

I cut around the candle and slid my Nestie over and cut it out. The mesh on the top is the sticky drywall tape you buy at a home improvement store. I found it while organizing and decided it's NOT out of style, just forgotten. So I cut it in smaller strips, colored the larger one with a copic and layered the smaller strip on top. The greeting was generated with my label maker and the 3 brad looking things were picked up at Walmart, they are sticky back so easy to use when you forget to put them on early. LOL

I made 2 of these and am sending to my kids who are both in grad school and I KNOW don't get to bed before 2 am. How they can stay up that late all the time and still function and get the grades they do I'll never know but I'm SO PROUD of them.

Whiff of Joy Challenge

I'll admit, I fell in love with the stamps from Whiff of Joy when I first saw them. What I find most impressive is the quality and service. I can order them from Switzerland, get them in a week and pay less in shipping than most US companies!
I am very impressed with the talent of the design team Katharina has secured and am a little intimidated by even trying to be a guest designer as my style is a little more clean and simple so all the layers are hard to incorporate. Not that I don't like layers but I mail 95% of my cards and want them to go without extra postage. But since I had a day to create yesterday I thought I'd what the heck, I'd try, I mean any chance to get free Whiff of Joy stamps to play with is sweet!
I was a little bummed my old camera's batteries were dead and had to use the new one my hubby bought me...It is supposed to be a much better camera but I like my old one.
Anyway, I made mine 5 X 5 (I can mail it in a 5X7 envelope so I don't have to use extra postage). The stamp is from the Winter collection and I colored her with Copics. The DP is by DCWV. I used all sorts of Spellbinder dies, dots Cuttlebug folder and the little flowers are some I've had in my stash, they are wooden. You see I'm on a kick, I organized my stuff and labeled everything so I don't spend hours looking for something.

I also did this card. I love that chilly Charlotte stamp by WOJ, colored with Copics. I cut her out and mounted her on the spellbinder die.

The Search is over

I saw both horses in the past 2 days. Tonight we made the deal for Deacon. The black and white.
He will be 2 years old officially January 1 as all horses birthdays are then but his real birthday is in March. I can's remember what his registered name is but his barn name was Deacon since he has white on this throat. I like it so that's what it's going to stay. Funny I have been brainstorming new horse names for a long time, that wasn't one of them and I usually don't like the names people game them.

Tomorrow night he will be sleeping in our barn. The owner is going to deliver him. I think I'll be happy with him. I think my stamping time might be cut a lot more with a new horse to work with as I train my own. Perhaps I'll loose a few pounds. I don't think stamping is a very good aerobic or weight bearing exercise! Wish me luck. I'll keep you posted on his progress and when I get time to stamp, I'll try to share with you.

The Hunt is ON!

After months of agonizing and realizing my Moose (the horse I'd had for 15 years) was starting to show his age and my kind of riding was hard on him, my husband and I made the painful decision it was time for him to find a new home. Now IF we had more acres and were allowed to have more horses where we are, Moose would have been retired with us. He was the most naturally talented horse I've ever owned. If I had sold him after the year I showed him, I could have got mega bucks for him but he was that once in a lifetime horse and I just couldn't do it. So we decided that he was to good of a horse to sell to just anyone, we would look for a forever home and he would be gifted to that person on the condition he died there and they take good care of him. Moose is the horse on the right above.
Our friend and neighbor Harvey had someone in mind, he needed a good quiet horse, didn't ride much, had another older horse that needed a friend and a farmstead about 20 miles from us that had been in the family for 150 years. It would be a good last home for Moose. I felt a little better when after he was loaded up his granddaughter Jayla, 4 years old came and was so excited. I held her up to pet Moose and told her that he was her horse now and that she had to take care of him for me. After I watched them drive out of our yard, I went in the house and cried like a baby. I do get updates and he's doing well. In time, I will go visit, right now, I still cry when I think about him....I'm crying now!

So, now it's time to find a replacement. It's not easy. The horse I had wanted, a half sister to Moose that looked just like him, sold. So I'm in a quandry. I'm looking at a coming 2 year old half brother of his, very loud marked (lots of white splashed on him and blue eyes, not my favorite) and a 2 year old black and white. Now I HAD my mind made up to get the 1/2 brother. After all, we have already owned 3 other horses sired by their dad and they have all been great. I mean how many horses would let a dog ride on them like Moose did in this picture?
Then a friend I used to show horses with sent me a card with a note that she did have one I should look at. SURE, this puts a crimper in my panties!! I like him too! He's a black and white paint, white legs, a little white on his neck and under his throat, she calls him Deacon. He's pretty cute too with a really nice head and the prettiest blue black I've ever seen! The prices are similar so that's not even e deciding factor.

So today we are going to look at Moose's brother in person. I hope after seeing him, I will be know which one I want for sure. I have a feeling that's not going to be the case. This is the horse we are looking at today:So, we'll see what happens after today. Hopefully I will have a decision made and a new horse in the barn by Christmas. The stall is all ready for him and maybe, just maybe I can be in the barn on Christmas Eve at midnight and hear him talk....
There will never be another Moose though.

Merry Christmas everyone!