Half-o-ween Blog Hop with LeighSBDesigns

OMG!  I almost missed it!  I've been so involved with coffee that I spaced out on the Half-o-Ween Blog Hop sponsored by LeighSBDesigns until just now.  EEEK!  Do you believe that we're half way to Halloween already?  Be still my heart.  So here's a quickie using Miss Oddleigh Witchiepoo.  I've used the png version so I could drop her in some digital paper.  (I know it's was called Nebulous, but for the life of me, I can't find where I bought it.)  Anyway, I've colored Witchiepoo with Copics and added a sentiment sticker from Tim Holtz Small Talk.

Although the Half-o-Ween Blog Hop is a one day thing (for entries), you have until June 3rd to make the rounds and comment on the projects, so be sure to check it our HERE.  You might win a prize!

I'm also entering this in the Lil Patch of Crafty Friends #82 AG Challenge, Simon Says Wednesday AG (5/5), Dream in Darkness May is the Word (my word for the year is "plan", yeah right), Simply Papercraft Challenge 58 AG, 

With a Latte Love

Here we go with another for the Spring/Summer Coffee Lovers Blog Hop.  These stamps and die are from the very first prize I ever won on the Hop a few years ago from Super Sponsor Lil' Inker designs.  The stamps are all from the Latte Love Set and I've cut the cup with the Latte Love coordinating die.  I stamped the cup and coffee interior with Memento Rich Cocoa Ink and over stamped the coffee with Versa Magic Cloud White to look like crema.  I masked the "a latte" from the birthday wishes stamp  (oooh!  Look at me stampin'!) to use with the "with a latte love" stamp.  I tried to keep it monochromatic and masculine so I colored the cup brown with my Copics.  Guys never actually scrub their cups and they end up brown anyway, so there ya go.  I thought the swirly DP from Prima looked like steam.

I'm also entering this in the Lil Patch of Crafty Friends challenge #82 AG, Simon Says Monday Masculine (3/5), Simon Says Wednesday AG (4/5) and Dream Valley Challenges #180 for a Man or Boy (3/3), Crafting by Designs For the Boys and the Outlawz Twisted Thursday AG.

Elegant Perfume

Don't faint!  It's not a coffee card.  It's the last day for the Outlawz May Progressive challenge so I thought I'd better get going, eh?  The gorgeous image is from Sandi's Samples and I really enjoyed coloring it with my Copics.  The scheme is like an antique reproduction bottle I have at home, but I'm sure I will try my hand at this image many more times.  It's so beautiful and feminine.  I've also added flat backed gems to jazz it up further. Thank you, Sandi Hugget!

I also have to give a shout out to the Kit and Clowder online coloring classes.  The color combo I used on the "gold" on the bottle was from the December 2017 Monthly Markers class.  I'm now a subscriber to both the markers and pencils classes and even if you don't manage to finish a monthly class, the techniques and color combos Alyce provides (along with art fundamentals and personal feedback) can be used with any images and has helped me improve and enjoy my coloring immensely.  If you're not yet willing to commit, be sure to check out the free classes HERE.

After coloring, I wasn't sure what to do with it, but the Outlawz Wednesday Sketch challenge saved the day (again!).  DP is from the new Graphic 45 Flower Shop pad.  Image and scalloped mat cut with Spellbinders dies.  Gold mesh ribbon and copper metal medallions are from my stash.

I'm also adding this to the DL.Art May Linky Challenge, Lil Patch of Crafty Friends #82 AG, Simon Says Wednesday AG, Simply Papercraft #58 AG, Double D Challenges Bling it Up...

Got Coffee?

Here's a quickie I did after my hair appointment because I wanted to sneak another entry into the Outlawz Twisted Thursday Butterfly theme, or should I say Coffee theme with butterflies?  LOL  Of COURSE it's Coffee themed for the Spring/Summer Coffee Lovers Blog Hop and again I used real stamps from Super Sponsors Verve Stamps (for the cup and steam) and sentiment from A Creative Journey with Melissa.  The cup was stamped with Memento so I could color with my Copics and I used Pumice Stone Distress Ink for the steam.  The sunflower sticker is from JoLee's and I've cut and matted the image with Spellbinders Postage Stamp dies.  The butterflies are a Martha Stewart punch and the DP is from Authentique.

I'm also adding this to Lil Patch of Crafty Friends #82 AG, Simon Says Wednesday AG, ...

A Cup of Kindness

It's probably gonna be a lean day today for the Spring/Summer Coffee Lovers Blog Hop because I have a much needed appointment at the salon, and it takes forever to bring this gal back to an acceptable state of boofiness.  LOL  I do, however, have something to share, again using stamps from some of the Super Sponsors.  The beautiful image is last year's Jessica Lynn Originals Coffee Lovers limited edition digi .  I've colored with Copics and cut with a Kat Scrappiness double Stitched Rectangle.  The sentiment is from the Coffee Helps set from Verve Stamps.  I die cut a second frame (I think perhaps also from Kat Scrappiness but I can't find the packaging) and added it on top at an angle and popped the whole shebang with foam on some pretty sparkly DP from SEI.  Finally, I added two more punched butterflies for the Outlawz Twisted Thursday Butterflies challenge.

I'm also adding this to the DL.Art May Linky Challenge, Lil Patch of Crafty Friends #82 AG, Simon Says Wednesday AG, Simply Papercraft #58 AG, 

A Good Day

Well yeah, it's a good day for all sorts of reasons, not the least of which is that this is my 3rd post of the day for the Spring/Summer Coffee Lovers Blog Hop.  WooHoo!  In case you've noticed, it's ALL about the COFFEE this week so it's only natural that my entry for the Outlawz Wednesday Sketch challenge is just that.  Here's the Sketch.

To be honest, I was having a bit of problem with it until I remembered the cool graphic coffee sentiments I had from Designworks at Creative Market.  It's dedicated to my hubby who makes my coffee every morning (mainly because his grinder and espresso machine is beyond my patience level, but still... I appreciate it greatly).  I rotated the sketch a quarter turn, printed the sentiment in brown and used scraps on my desk.  Added some rick rack and and Doodlebug clips to the top and bottom of the sentiment and called it done.

I'm adding this to the Lil Patch of Crafty Friends challenge #82 AG, Simon Says Monday Masculine (it IS for my hubby), and Dream Valley Challenges #180 for a Man or Boy.

Summer Loving

Told you I had a few in the works for the Spring/Summer Coffee Lovers Blog Hop.  Better get more done, too because tomorrow I'll not be crafting.  Cactus Coffee is from Super Sponsor Craftin' Desert Divas colored with Copics and cut with a double stitched Rectangle Die from Super Sponsor Kat Scrappiness.  Sun stamp and sentiment plus die from Super Sponsor Verve Stamps.  DP is Rise and Shine from Cosmo Cricket and flowers are from my stash.  OOOps!  So busy crafting I forgot to post this one!

I'm adding this to Lil Patch of Crafty Friends #82 AG, Simon Says Wednesday Use More than One Stamp, the Outlawz Festive Fridays AG, Jo's Scrap Shack FFC #235 AG, 

"Bean" Thinking of You

Gotta say I'm kinda proud of this one.  One of the things I love about the Spring/Summer Coffee Lovers Blog Hop is that it gets me trying to use my actual physical stamps.  Here's one with ALL real stamping.  YAY, me! (And thank god for the Misti)

I had this in my mind because of my new bold alphabet die set from Super Sponsor Altenew and the fact that it's getting close to Father's Day.  Although my Daddy's been gone 13 years now, rarely a day goes by without me thinking of him and he sure loved his coffee.  So I kept this masculine, stamping in brown Memento and using kraft grid paper from a Tim Holtz stack that referenced my daddy's mechanical engineering profession.  No computers when he was working.  Drafting was done by hand on.  

I taped the letters together to get an idea of where I wanted to stamp and used the Coffee Beans from the Tim Holtz Fresh Brewed stamps from Stampers Anonymous.  The additional beans are from Super Sponsor Verve's Coffee set (OOOH!  I even MASKED some!) and the sentiment is from Verve's Rise Above set.  After stamping, I cut the letters and popped them up and there ya go.

I'm also entering this in the DL.Art May Linky Challenge, Lil Patch of Crafty Friends #82 AG, Simon Says Monday Masculine Challenge, Simon Says Wednesday Use More than One Stamp, the Outlawz Monday Greetings AG, and Dream Valley Challenges #180 for a Man or Boy.

Anything is Possible with Coffee!

Although I missed posting yesterday for the Spring/Summer Coffee Lovers Hop (because we finally had some nice weather) but I've got tons in the works, but not completed.  We'll see how that goes... 

I thought it would be fun to created a little scene with the cute Unicorn by Ike's Art that happens to be the May Progressive challenge image (in Ike's FB Group) and tie it in with the Hop.  He's colored with Copics and I added a little cup to his hand that was fussy cut from some old Cosmo Cricket DP.  He came with a rainbow and clouds but I screwed up coloring the rainbow so I die cut a rainbow instead.  The sun was stamped and die cut with sets from Super Sponsor Verve Stamps and the first part of the sentiment is also Verve with "coffee" from a set from a Creative Journey with Melissa.  The cool coffee pot button at the end of the rainbow is from Super Sponsor DL.Art.  The buttons come in all sort of themes and  come regular, flat backed or as pins so you can collect and pin them anywhere you want. 

Gotta run now.  We're going on a picnic.

   

I'm also entering this in the DL.Art May Linky Challenge, Lil Patch of Crafty Friends #82 AG, the Outlawz Saturday Paper Ala Mode Create a Scene, Dragonfly Journeys #119 Somewhere Over the Rainbow, Simon Says Wednesday Use More than One Stamp, 

More Super Sponsors for Day Two

It's day two of the Spring/Summer Coffee Lovers Hop and I've got another offering featuring more of the hop Super Sponsors goodies.  The adorable image is Cuppa Mouse by Limited Runs Stamps.  I play in the Progressive challenge in the Limited Runs FB Group and received it for free, but you can buy in for only $1.00 until June 13th HERE.  I colored the mouse and latte with Copics and die cut the image with a Spellbinders circle prior to paper piecing the cup so it could extend outside the circle.  It was popped on two layers of the Spellbinders peony dies and then the fancy (I can't remember the name) circle, cut with craft.  The gingham layer was cut with a Heartfelt Creations die.

The sentiment is from Super Sponsor Verve Stamps Coffee Helps set and stamped with Memento Rich Cocoa.  The gorgeous double crinkle ribbon bow is from Super Sponsor DL.Art.  The DP's are from Prima and S.E.I.

If you just happened upon this post and want to know about the Hop and how to participate, click HERE.  There's LOADS of inspiration and prizes to be won.  WooHoo!

I'm also entering this in the DL.Art May Linky Challenge, Lil Patch of Crafty Friends #82 AG, the Outlawz Festive Fridays Birthday (or AG) theme, Jo's Scrap Shack #235 AG, Simon Says Wednesday Use More than One Stamp, 

It's a Coffee Date!

Okay, so I lied.  Here's another quickie.  This one sort of made itself.  I have a bunch of stuff printed for the Spring/Summer Coffee Lovers Hop and this fun Graphic from the Cafe Line Icons by Made by Made colored up in a flash with my Copics.  I still had the Coffee, Tea and Wine, Oh-MY set on my desk from Super Sponsor A Creative Journey with Melissa which seemed appropriate so I stamped and cut it out with a small Spellbinder's square and backed it with a Spellbinders Postage Stamp die.  The Coffee shop itself was cut with a Stitched Banner by Gina Marie and I added a cute little Doodlebug Design sun paperclips available from Super Sponsor Doodlebugs HERE to the corner.  Old DP's from my stash are from Heidi Grace.  WooHoo!

I'm entering this in the LPOCF #82 AG, ...

It's the Spring/Summer Coffee Lovers Hop!

It's the first day of the Spring/Summer Coffee Lovers Hop 2018 and things are really rolling.  Don't know how many entries I'll get in (because I'm the slowest crafter EVER, I never work ahead and have the worst time making decisions) but I did managed this for my first post using some of my previous winnings from the fabulous Super Sponsors.  I won this adorable stamp from Stampendous called Coffee Crazy at the last hop and you can get yours HERE.  I've stamped (Yes, REAL stamping, YAY me!) with Memento and colored with Copics.  The sentiment is from the Coffee, Tea and Wine Oh-MY! set (Got all my bases covered) from Super Sponsor A Creative Journey with Melissa.  Finally I added some flowers from my stash a top a gorgeous crinkle ribbon bow from Super Sponsor and dear friend DL.Art.  Short post but gotta HOP!

I'm also adding this to the DL.Art May Linky Challenge, Lil Patch of Crafty Friends #82 AG, 2 Crafty Critter Crazies May AG/w critters, Jo's Scrap Shack FFC #235, the Outlawz Festive Fridays AG, Simon Says Wednesday Use More than One Stamp, 

OOOh La La

I'm playing with the Outlawz again and used an adorable image by Sandra Caldwell called #2214 Frenchie.  She's colored with Copics in the colors of the Tuesday Color Challenge inspiration photo.  Added some highlights to her hair with a white gel pen.  The Twist was "add texture" so I embossed the back panel with the Cuttlebug Fleur de Lys embossing folder and added die cuts (that were also embossed, but hard to see) from the Spellbinders French Frills set.  The sentiment was computer generated.  Twisted Thursday called for "double embossing" (wet or dry) so I also added it there.

I'm also adding this to the DL.Art May Linky Challenge, Lil Patch of Crafty Friends #82 AG, and  Simply Papercraft AG.

A Joyous Occasion at Aurora Wings

It's time for a new challenge at Aurora Wings and this time we're celebrating

We're looking for Birthdays, Holidays, New Baby, Wedding, Mother's, Father's or Grandparent's Day.  WOW!  Loads of happy occasions to choose from, eh?  

Well, since it's the month of May, with Mother's Day just past, my thoughts did turn to my own mother who has been gone for 23 years now.  It's also her birthday month (and she'd be 106 if she were still alive) so I made a card that would honor her for either day using the sweet Lily of the Valley Sprite which is May's birth flower.

Here's a closeup of the adorable Lily of the Valley Sprite available HERE on Aurora Wings.com and HERE on Etsy.  I've used the png version so I could print her on digital paper and color her with my Copics.  Blue was my Mom's favorite color and the gingham seemed as fresh and sweet as the image.  We had a little patch of lilies of the valley hidden behind my playhouse in my backyard as a child and I loved to pick bouquets and bring them in to smell.  As a matter of fact, Muguet De Bois was the first perfume I ever gave her.

I really wanted to give this project some dimension, but when I considered the intricate fussy cutting I would have to do, I was content to use die cuts for that.  The Spellbinders Grand Oval was popped on the Grand Decorative Oval mat.  The Lily of the Valley Frame die is from Tutti Designs. I cut it in white and colored with my Copics, trimmed off the rest of the thin oval frame because it interfered with the image and popped it ever so carefully with foam as well.  The sentiment label is also Spellbinders and the sentiment is from the Words 2 set by Elizabeth Craft.  Finally I added a few flat back pearls and called it done.  Unfortunately I didn't begin to  make cards until after she was gone.  I think she would have liked it.

Now I invite you to visit the Aurora Wings Challenge Blog to see the fabulous inspiration from my Aurora Team sisters and come play along.  Hope to see you there.

Here's how to keep up with all that's happening at Aurora Wings.

Aurora Wings Challenge Blog (current challenge runs through June 16th)

Aurora Wings Showcase Blog

Aurora Wings Etsy Shop

Aurora Wings Digi Shop 

Aurora Wings FB Group 

Aurora Wings FB Fan Page

I'm entering this in the DL.Art May Thankful Thursday Challenge #228 Birthday, Lil Patch of Crafty Friends #82 AG, Creates and Makes #21 AG, Jo's Scrap Shack FFC #234 AG , the Colour Crazy Challenge Wk 20 AG w/hand colored image, 613 Avenue Create May AG/optional Mainly Blue, the World Wide Open DT Challenge #05 AG, Scrapy Land Challenge #90 AG w/die brands SL carries, Crafty Friends #84 "B" is for...(blue, birthday), Allsorts Week 468 Happy 9th Birthday Allsorts, the Outlawz Festive Fridays Birthday theme, the Classic DT Open #25 May AG, Simply Papercraft #57 AG, Crafting With Friends #67 AG, Kitty Bee Designs #118 For Mom/Feminine, QKR Stampede #296 AG, Do Al(l) Creative #17 Not Sguare/Rectangle (3/3), As You Like It Pink or Blue (blue, because it was my Mom's favorite color and works for both genders), Create and Inspire #74 Springtime, Get Creative #69 Lots of Flowers, A Perfect Time to Craft #5 AG.

  

Have a Wicked Birthday

Again playing with one of the Faery Ink Unicorn Masquerade Birthday stamps from the FB Group event last weekend and this wicked chick is Ophelia.  I LUUURVE her!  Made it a tag for the Outlawz Saturday Paper Ala Mode challenge and birthday for the Festive Fridays Birthday theme.  She's colored with Copics and I printed her originally without her mask (AFTER coloring, of course) and then realized she needed it for the costume contest so I printed her again, fussy cut the mask and popped it on her face. Used my fave color scheme of Red, Black &White.  The tag was cut and matted with Spellbinders Labels 25 and added a Memory Box Small Spiderweb Frame.  "wicked" was cut with a Tim Holtz Halloween words die and the rest of the sentiment was done with my Dymo label maker.  Cool fibers are from my stash.

I'm also adding this to the DL.Art Thankful Thursday Challenge #228 Birthday Theme, Lil Patch of Crafty Friends #81 AG, Simply Papercraft #57 AG, Jo's Scrap Shack FFC #234 AG , Incy Wincy with Things That Fly, Crafting with an Attitude #39 AG, Do Al(l) Kreatives #17 Not Square or Rectangle, Scrapy Land #80 AG w/dies SL sells, Sheepski Designs Your Favorite Colors, ...

A Bugaboo Get Well

One more for the Outlawz Festive Fridays, this time a Get Well theme using the hilarious Bugaboo Oh Crap set combined with the Dollar Flower Bug.  The Oh Crap set comes with some great sentiments but I generated my own to make it fit the Get Well theme.  Super CAS, colored with Copics, one layer with some scores you can't really see.  I imagine I'll be using this set a lot.

I'm adding this to the current Catch the Bug Theme Challenge Say it With Flowers, the DL.Art May Linky Challenge, Lil Patch of Crafty Friends #81 AG, HLS May CAS One Layer, Simply Papercraft AG, Incy Wincy with Things that Fly and Crafting with an Attitude #39 AG.

A Magical Birthday

This gorgeous gal is another of the images I colored for the Birthday celebration at Faery Ink FB Group last weekend.  Meet Aja Unicorn Fairy Masquerade.  She was a Freebie for the party and was so much fun to color up.  I wanted to pop her on a birthday card to enter a number of challenges (one being monochromatic), hence all the yellow.  LOL She's colored with Copic with some gold gel pen accents (and white for the sparkles on her dress) and I wasn't really thinking clearly and added some adhesive gems to her mask which made her impossible to run through a die cut machine without ruining her so I cut a window for her instead.  Used Nuvo drops in the scallops which sticks better to the glitter paper and added gold butterfly stickers and sentiment to the DP from K&Co.

I'm adding this to the Outlawz Festive Fridays Birthday theme, the Outlawz Monday Greetings Monochromatic challenge, the DL.Art Thankful Thursday #228 Birthday theme, Lil Patch of Crafty Friends #81 AG, Jo's Scrap Shack FFC #233 AG (3/3), Art Impressions Playing Dress Up, the Unicorn Challenge #32 Monochrome, Simply Papercraft AG, Incy Wincy with Things that Fly and Double "D" Challenges Bling it Up.

Lavender and Lace

Here's another for the Outlawz, this time Twisted Thursday where the optional "twist" is "Lavender and Lace".  Used new layering dies again from Altenew.  This one is Peony Dreams.  Again I cut in white and colored with Copics because I really didn't have enough lavenders to layer.  It was a bit fiddly to glue together, too but all in all, I'm pleased with it.  Found lace in my stash I could thread with ribbon.  It's actually crinkle ribbon from DL.Art (my fave).  DP is K&Co and the sentiment is an old Cuttlebug die.  I'm also happy that the purples ended up photographing pretty true.  You know how difficult purples can be.

I'm also entering this in the DL.Art May Linky Challenge, Lil Patch of Crafty Friends #81 AG, Crafty Gals Corner #165 Add a Flower, and Let's Craft and Create AG/optional Lace, Ribbon, Twine.

Faery Ink Meets the Outlawz Sketch

I really had a fun weekend playing with the Faery Ink FB Group at the Unicorn Masquerade Birthday Ball.  We played games, received lovely freebies and there was a costume contest and inspiration posts galore.  This beauty is Unicorn Masquerade Moon Fairy, one of the costumes I colored over the weekend.  She's colored with Copics with a gold gel pen for the stars and I did the background with the "resist" method of using alcohol and a Q-Tip to create texture in the sky.  Today I added some Stardust Stickles to her wings, mask and horn for more sparkle.

I didn't have time to do a project with her until today, following the Outlawz Wednesday Sketch, last minute as usual.  What can I say?  The DP was on my desk from yesterday's project and looked great with the background I'd colored so YAY!  I cut her out with a Spellbinder's Grand Circle and Used Gold mirror card stock for the scalloped circle mat.  The strip of light blue glitter paper was also on my desk (no, I don't clean up after myself, obviously) so WooHoo for that, too.  I thought I had some gold colored adhesive stars for the swirly part in the corner, but if I do, they were nowhere to be found today, so I used a border punch that happened to have a number of different sized stars  and punched from the gold, as well.  Gluing them on individually was a PITA, but I love how it came out.

I'm also adding this to the DL.Art May Linky Challenge, Lil Patch of Crafty Friends #81 AG, Creates and Makes #21 AG, Jo's Scrap Shack FFC #233 AG (3/3), the Colour Crazy Challenge Wk 18 AG w/hand colored image, 613 Avenue Create May AG/optional Mainly Blue, ...

The Outlawz Tuesday Color Challenge

You know I love playing on the Outlawz Forum and I really always try not to miss the Tuesday Color challenge because it often takes me a bit out of my comfort zone and allows me to explore different styles.  Generally, I'm struggling last minute (like today) but it's always fun.  I probably wouldn't have so much trouble if I didn't take things so literally, but that's how I roll.

So here's the swatch and of course I couldn't get the peacock feathers out of my mind.  The dies are old Spellbinders and my first attempt was to cut them in white and color them with Copics.  Hideous!  Second attempt was to cut out of the DCWV Glitzy Glitter stack which is lovely paper with a superfine glitter finish that doesn't shed, but doesn't die cut for crap because of the stuff they use to make that glitter stay put.  It cuts through the glitter and the backing, but that in between just doesn't give up.  I ended up using a craft knife to get some of the intricate pieces free.   After that I decided to use stickers for the sentiment and corners instead of trying my luck again with dies and chose a birthday sentiment because there's gobs of challenges calling for Birthday cards at the mo.  So obviously my other colors are green and gold(ish) and my twist is to add sparkle and shine.  Done before 6:00.  YAY, me!

I'm adding this to the C.R.A.F.T Challenge #467 and Annual Birthday Blog Hop, the DL.Art May Linky Challenge, Lil Patch of Crafty Friends #81 AG, 

Full of Possibilities

Playing along with two challenges on the Outlawz Forum using the gorgeous Aurora Floral Kiss from TheEastWind. To be honest, I'd colored her awhile ago with Copics but had never put her on a card.  I thought she'd be perfect for the themes.  The new format for Sunday challenges is Songs and Rhymes and this week's Song is "An English Country Garden" (video link HERE).  I'm getting this in just under the wire because I was waiting for my Graphic 45 Floral Shoppe pad and it made it just in time.  

What gorgeous pages of flowers!  WOW!  I chose the one that looked best with my coloring and added mats of green to both the image and the floral DP.  Monday Greetings called for Spring Flowers and specified that it must have something green, so there ya go.  I also did a floral die cut from some K&Co Dp and added it under the image for even more flowery goodness.  For some reason the die was just sitting in my box with no packaging and although this was the first time I've actually used it, I have no idea who it is by.  Don'tcha hate when that happens?  The little butterfly and hummingbird are Little B stickers, the sentiment is Tim Holtz Small Talk and the gorgeous triple crinkle ribbon bow is from DL.Art.  I kinda love the way it turned out.

I'm also adding this to the DL.Art May Linky Challenge, Lil Patch of Crafty Friends #81 AG, Jo's Scrap Shack FFC #233 AG, the Colour Crazy Challenge Week 18 AG/w hand colored image, Create and Inspire #74 AG/Springtime, CCC Digi Creations May #92 Flower Power and Your Scrapbook Place May AG.