LDRS Creative - Tiki Hut Pocket Pals 2nd Card

What I really love about the pocket pal sets is that you can do a card two different ways - you can cut it out and put it on a normal 5x7 or 4x6 card front - or you can make it as a "shaped card base" on its own.  I posted a version of this card on a 5x7 card base earlier today, but I actually colored two sets - the second set I used as a shaped card base here:

The card is still interactive - all the doors and windows still open and shut to put characters behind.  Doing it this way, the card is smaller but oh so cute!  It still uses retired LDRS Creative Tiki Hut and You're Jawsome stamp and die sets.

I am also entering this card into the Simon Says Stamp Wednesday Challenge:  Interactive Card Challenge

Products Used:

LDRS Creative - Tiki Hut Stamps & Dies

LDRS Creative - You're Jawsome Stamp and Dies

Spectrum Noir - Illustrator Markers

Thanks for looking!

LDRS Creative - Tiki Hut Pocket Pals Card

Ok, I may be getting obsessed with LDRS Creative pocket pals.  They are kind of addictive!  I love a good interactive card - and these are great fun if you like to color.  

I created the background with distress oxides in salty ocean, tumbled glass, and antique linen and then splotched some distress paint in picket fence on top to create a more ocean water look.  The rest of the card is all LDRS Creative "Tiki Hut" and "You're Jawsome" sets that I got off HSN awhile back so I don't think it is available except on ebay/etsy these days, so I'm thrilled to finally have time to dig into my stash!  All colored with Spectrum Noir Illustrator Markers. 

I love that the doors and windows open and shut so that you can put characters behind them to peek out.

I am entering this card into the Simon Says Stamp Wednesday Challenge:  Interactive Card Challenge

Products Used:

LDRS Creative - Tiki Hut Stamps & Dies

LDRS Creative - You're Jawsome Stamp and Dies

Distress Oxide - Salty Ocean

Distress Oxide - Tumbled Glass

Distress Oxide - Antique Linen

Distress Paint - Picket Fence

Spectrum Noir - Illustrator Markers

Thanks for looking!

Art Impressions - Stayin' Afloat Girlfriends Card

I have a goal this year of entering at least 30 challenges before December 31st, and Art Impressions is one of my favorites.  This week, I am trying to channel sunnier skies as I'm tired of the winter blahs and am ready for some time in the sun!  So who else to rely on but my "Girlfriends" stamps from Art Impressions.  I chose the retired set "Stayin' Afloat".  I loved the sentiment stamp especially as I feel inundated with technology lately and miss the days of floating down the river on an innertube.  This was colored with Spectrum Noir Illustrator markers, and I used a black pen & gems to add detail.  The innertubes were stamped and fussycut from patterned papers in my stash.  I made this for the April Showers Challenge at Art Impressions, even though it doesn't really have rain - but I've got clouds!  Thanks for looking!  #artimpressions  #artimpressionschallenge  

Polkadoodles Rebel Birthday Card

I am enjoying the new Polkadoodles digi-stamps from the "Rebel" series, as she reminds me of my teen daughter!  This card make embodies her dislike of "peopling" as an introvert lol.  The card base is a gatefold card that opens in the middle.  The sentiment on front is from the Polkadoodles Rebel Girl Sentiments Digi-Stamps.  The inside of card sentiment is from an internet meme.  I used a Polkadoodles retired paper pad "Daisy Delights" for the background and some of their flower & butterfly stamps to decorate it along with "Funky Borders" for flower stems, and everything is colored with Spectrum Noir Illustrator Markers. I am entering this one in challenges at Polkadoodles Digi Choosday Challenge   Gem of a Craft Challenge  We Love to Create  Polkadoodles Friday Challenge  #Polkadoodles #PolkadoodlesRebel

The outside of the card:

The inside of the card:

And I was one of the top 3 picks on the Polkadoodles Friday Challenge, We Love to Create Challenge, and Digi Chooseday Challenge - thank you Polkadoodles :-) 

Products Used:

Polkadoodles Rebel Digi Stamp

Polkadoodles Sentiments

Polkadoodles Reach for the Sky Stamps

Polkadoodles Funky Flower Stamps

Polkadoodles Adorable Floral Stamps

Polkadoodles Funky Borders Stamps

Spectrum Noir Illustrators

Thanks for looking!

Polkadoodles Hoppy Easter Card

Another Easter Card for this year.  This card features the digi-stamp called "Hoppy Easter" from Polkadoodles. 

To make this card I printed the digi-stamp twice.  Once for the overall stamp, and once to cut up for pieces to make the rabbit and chick bobbleheads with action wobblers and to add extra Easter eggs and butterflies.  I colored the images with Spectrum Noir Illustrator Markers and added the clouds from a die cut in my stash.  #Polkadoodles  @Polkadoodles  #PolkadoodlesEaster

Products used:

Polkadoodles Hoppy Easter Digi-stamp

Action Wobblers

Spectrum Noir Illustrator Markers

Polkadoodles Hocus Pocus Wall Art

My partner's daughter loves Halloween and Hocus Pocus as much as I do and she has a birthday coming up where that is the theme, so I tried to figure out something to make for a gift and turned to Polkadoodles as a top runner.  I decided to make her something for her walls to decorate with for Halloween as I know she will hang it up.  

I choose the Polkadoodles "Spellbinding Witches" digi-stamps for the job.  I haven't done a lot with digi-stamps until recently as I didn't have a good printer and couldn't figure out an easy way to configure them - thank you Polkadoodles for putting out a youtube video on how to use them, because now I'm hooked!  They made it so easy to just drag the files into Microsoft Word and size them and link them together now.  I chose Belladonna, Ravella, and Pandora to represent the 3 witches in Hocus Pocus and colored them in their colors.  Ravella for Winnifred, because she has the book of spells.  Pandora for Mary because her hair reminded me of her, Belladonna for Sarah as she seemed "sexy-ish" and yet innocent all the same, like Sarah.  I overlapped the digi-stamps so they are all close together and began to color . . .

I ended up not using the phrase I typed at the bottom though, as it just didn't look right to me once colored.  My alcohol marker of choice is Spectrum Noir Illustrators, and that is what I used here.  Once the witches were done, I had to figure out a background - and what better than a full moon!  I achieved that look by using a large circle die cut and cutting out a plain circle that I positioned over the witches. I then used some Distress "Lost Shadow" ink around the edges to form my moon shape.  Once done, I colored it in with yellow Illustrator markers. Then I created a night sky with Distress "Prize Ribbon and "Wilted Violet" inks.  The ground was watercolored in with Distress "Walnut Stain" and "Black Soot" inks.  Next I added in the trees with the Polkadoodles "Creepy Tree" stencil.  And I finished it off with stamped lightning bolts and bats from Tim Holtz Stampers Anonymous "Mr. Bones" and "Haunted House" stamp sets and framed it.  I am entering this in the Polkadoodles challenges this week.  #Polkadoodles @Polkadoodles #TimHoltz #Stampers Anonymous #DistressInk #HalloweenArt #PolkadoodlesSpellbinding @PolkadoodlesSpellbinding #HocusPocus #Spellbinding @Spellbinding

And I was selected as a challenge winner for this make :-)  Thank you Polkadoodles!

Thanks for looking!

Products Used:

Polkadoodles Spellbinding Witches Digi-Stamps

Polkadoodles Creepy Tree Stencil

Spectrum Noir Illustrator Markers

Tim Holtz Mr. Bones Stamp Set

Tim Holtz Haunted House Stamp Set

Distress Ink - Prize Ribbon

Distress Ink - Wilted Violet

Distress Ink - Lost Shadow

Distress Ink - Walnut Stain

Distress Ink - Black Soot

Polkadoodles - Easter Card

 Polkadoodles is my go-to for cards for my grand-daughters as their stamps are just too cute!  This card is a left side stepper card and features the Polkadoodles stamp sets "Spring Showers" and "Hoppy Birthday".  I am entering this card in the Polkadoodles Friday Challenge Blog - Anything Goes.  

The background was made with sparkle ink pots from Crafter's Companion (in blue and green for the grass) - so it sparkles like glitter, but the photo doesn't do it justice.  The grass stencil is also from Polkadoodles.  The sun and clouds are from old retired LDRS Creative die cut sets, but the face on the sun is from an LDRS Creative die set that is still available.  Lastly, the sentiment is from Tim Holtz.  All coloring was done with Spectrum Noir Illustrator Markers.  #polkadoodles  #polkadoodleseaster

Products Used:

Moon dies - LDRS Creative

Spring Showers - Polkadoodles

Hoppy Birthday - Polkadoodles

Grass Stencil - Polkadoodles

Crazy Talk - Tim Holtz

Sparkle Ink Pots - Crafter's Companion

Illustrator Markers - Crafter's Companion

Thanks for looking!

St. Patrick's Day Card - Art Impressions

 I'm entering a new challenge over at Art Impressions - the green galore challenge!  I've wanted to make a St. Patrick's Day card for awhile, so this was just the push I needed!  

This card is a twisted easel design.  It features the Art Impressions Girlfriends Stamp Set #4756 "Flaunt It" but it also has some accessories and sentiments from the Art Impressions Stamp Set #5006 "Sham-rock".  

Admission - I absolutely LOVE the girlfriends stamp sets.  They just make me smile.  So I wanted to use one of them, but give it a St. Patricks Day feel.  I colored and accessorized the "Flaunt It" set, and I tried out the technique of using patterned paper as part of the stamped image - for 2 out of 3 of their dresses.  I learned something important on that technique - it's easiest to do if you do large areas only lol.  I tried to do all 3 dresses, but the one on the end needed to be cut in several small pieces and put back together - which I promptly messed up, so I colored hers instead.  I used patterned papers from an older retired Doodlebug St. Patrick's Day stash.  These ladies got their party on with the beer, bowler hat, and 4-leaf clover from the "Sham-rock" stamp set.  

I try to avoid the plain white background using these stamp sets - so I greened it up by coloring it with greens and then added some dots in with a stencil THS006 "Dot Fade" from Tim Holtz so it wouldn't look a flat green.  Lastly I added the sentiments, bow, and gems to finish it off.  #artimpressions  #artimpressionschallenge  #artimpressionsgirlfriends

Products Used (along with Spectrum Noir Illustrator Markers):

Flaunt It Stamps

Sham-rock Stamps

Tim Holtz - Dot Fade

Art Impressions - Old Guys Club aka Dad's Birthday Card

Dad turned 88 today!  And to honor him, my card focused on the stamp set #4474 "Old Guys Club" lol.  He's earned it!  I didn't want to just put it on the front - so I made the card front a window to see the stamp set inside of it.

I colored the stamps with Spectrum Noir Illustrator Markers and drew in the background.  The patterned paper is from Polkadoodles.  And then I just threw in some brads for interest.  #ArtImpressions #Polkadoodles #SpectrumNoir

Thanks for looking!

Products Used:

Art Impressions - Hat Ladies Birthday Card

March is a big birthday month for me - my dad and his lady friend both have early March birthdays and I love to use Art Impressions stamps for them!  For his lady friend I used the SC0678 Got Style stamp set.  

I stamped the hat ladies onto a white background and colored them with Spectrum Noir Illustrator Markers and added colored pearls.  I also used a Crafter's Companion edgable for the "Happy Birthday" and then tied on a ribbon.  Patterned papers are by Polkadoodles.  #ArtImpressions #Polkadoodles #CraftersCompanion #SpectrumNoir

Thanks for looking!

Products Used:

Art Impressions - Backyard Boss Slimline Birthday Card

Art Impressions Challenge - Bloom Where You're Planted

I always struggle with birthday cards for men.  There are so many products that work for cards for women and children, but not as much is made for men.  And when I do find good male products, I often sit on them and overthink it before using them so male cards are still a challenge for me!

This card features the "Backyard Boss" stamp from Art Impressions #4377.  My other half loves to go play with his leaf blower in the yard, so this is perfect!  The background is in 3 layers.  The bottom layer is watercolor paper with grass and clouds stenciled on it - from Polkadoodles and LDRS.  The next layer is a piece of acetate that I splashed with alcohol inks and blew out to make a colorful background that shows nicely when put over the white paper.  On top of that is the main layer of leaves and the sentiment.  And the main character is pushed out on foam squares to add dimension.  The leaves are from an older Polkadoodles autumn stamp set.  The leaves and the "Backyard Boss" are colored with alcohol markers - my preference is Spectrum Noir Illustrators for markers.  #artimpressions, #artimpressionschallenge, #alcoholinks, #spectrumnoir, #stamping

Thanks for looking!

Woohoo!  I just won the lucky random winner on this challenge for Art Impression.  Thank you so much - I'm so excited!!!

Products Used:

Art Impressions Road Trip Slimline Card

I made this slimline card featuring Art Impressions Stamps SC0795 Road Trip from the "Girlfriends" series of stamps.  The background was made with a cloud stencil from Polkadoodles and a little Tumbled Glass Distress Oxide ink.  The quote at the bottom used for the road is from a 12x12 piece of paper from Reminisce called "YOLO" from their "Bucket List" series.  For coloring - I used my favorite Illustrators from Spectrum Noir.  

What do you think?