Coloring Challenge and Refreshed Blog

Happy Super Bowl Sunday!

Since the Broncos tanked big time this year, I don't really care all that much about the game, except I'd rather the Patriots didn't win. Not likely, I know. So, I may have it on for the commercials. I saw a Peyton Manning one that was pretty funny. The half time show might be okay. And I might pick up my cross stitch, which hasn't seen any action since Christmas! We'll see.

My friend, Loll, of Stamping with Loll,was so kind to offer her skills in updating the look of my blog. Thanks so very much, Loll! I am so tickled with the happy flowers and the bright fresh look! If you haven't ever been to Loll's blog, I think you should go check it out. She creates beautiful cards that have gorgeous backgrounds. They are a feast for the eyes.

Kathy Racoosin, of The Daily Marker, is holding another 30 Day Coloring Challenge and I started out really well and was coloring up a storm. Here's the last thing I worked on over a week ago now. I've kind of fallen off. Oops.

Anyway, I'm taking a pencil coloring class at Kit and Clowder and this is the image from the class. I'm using Prismacolor pencils, but no blending solution. I just barely started the fur, which is a new technique for me. The classes are really good and Alyce is a wonderful and encouraging teacher who is readily available to her students.  Maybe I'll work on it a bit more later today.

I wanted to make a bunch of cards yesterday, but thought I'd play a bit with some alcohol inks first. Then work on cards while they were drying. Got a little carried away and ended up with these:

This is still wet and also shown in the first alcohol ink picture

This is still wet as well and a little blurry. It's just blue inks with a smidge of green. Looks like water. 

Was having so much fun that I kept playing with the inks and never got a card made. Oops. 

Finally, here's a picture of a mug I saw in Walmart this morning. Sent it to my girls.

True, no? LOL

Thank you so much for stopping by. I hope you have a happy day!

A 'Kaleidoscope' of Butterflies for You

Hello!

Oh goodness, it's been a while, hasn't it? I'll give you the short version. I've been a bit busy. Too short? Because aren't we all busy?! Okay, a little bit longer version. 

A few days after my last post, I got a call from my brother that my dad was going to have a stent put in. Right after Christmas my dad got the flu and pneumonia (he had received both vaccines well before the seasons hit). Anyway, throughout the month after he initially got sick(January), he'd been in and out of the hospital because he couldn't shake the pneumonia and was having trouble breathing. During that time it was determined that he had 3 blocked arteries and needed stents. So I went out to CA for a few days to help him after the procedure. Well, there was a delay and the procedure (they only did the worst of the three) took place later in my stay. Dad came through it fine, thank goodness. I left on Sunday and on Tuesday morning, my brother called to say that Dad was having trouble breathing and he was back in the hospital. It was pretty serious. I flew back that day and stayed for over 2 weeks. Dad was in the hospital one week and a rehab facility the second and I stayed part of a third week to be sure he was not going to end up back in the hospital. Thankfully, this time he seemed to get better. He has been home ever since. Whew! So, that is part of the reason I've been gone so long. I'm just hoping he doesn't get another cold or heaven forbid, pneumonia again for a good long while!

My girls have kept me hopping. Amy's Winterguard season was busy and they ended up qualifying for the state competition. After a very long day and two performances, her group came in 4th out of 18 teams! Pretty exciting! Amy's also been on a long weekend trip to Orlando, Florida for band. Plus various bingo sessions, practices and what not. Jessica joined a few new to us clubs and a couple of them held competitions. One was a Math Counts competition(3-4 of them actually) and the other a Battle of the Books. Her BOB team came in 1st for her school and 3rd in the district! Oh my! She just got back from a weekend trip to Grand Junction with her band. They've also had a few concerts in there, too. I cannot complain about them, other than when they are in teen mode. That's not so fun. But they are totally normal. 

Work has kept me busy, too. My co worker has had a family emergency and has been gone several days. I've picked up a few extra hours. Nice for the wallet, but my body is resisting! LOL 

The end of school is coming up already and that means clubs are starting to wind down. Which means a little less driving for me. Which theoretically means more crafty time. This weekend I was able to play and I have several butterfly cards to share with you! I looked up what a lot of butterflies together is called and Mr. Google said a kaleidoscope or a swarm or a rabble. I like the first choice the best. :)

I was completely inspired (enabled) to  buy these Stamploration stamps and dies (Flutter Zen 1, Flutter Zen 2 and Trendy Butterflies 2 because of Carol's cards (of Just me: c blog) here and here. Isn't her work glorious? Here are my cards. I also made one more, but my camera batteries died and I'm recharging them as I type. I'll share that one later.

Ink blended with Peacock Feathers and Cracked Pistachio ink. Adhered to a piece of bristol smooth cardstock by mistake. Also used Wonky Stiching die from MFT. Sending Hugs from Hero Arts Kindness stamp set

Ink blended with Spiced Marmalade and Worn Lipstick ink. Sending Hugs from Hero Arts Kindness stamp set

Colored with pencils and ink blended with Cracked Pistachio and Peacock Feathers ink

Ink blended with Spiced Marmalade and Worn Lipstick, background is Hero Arts cling stamp and Ranger Enhanced Gold Embossing Powder. Sentiment is embossed with CTMH Silver Pearl embossing powder

Ink blended with Cracked Pistachio and Peacock Feathers ink, senitment heat embossed in Ranger Liquid Platinum ep. I added a strip of washi from Michaels Recollections brand. The background is an old Hero Arts stamp heat embossed in CTMH Silver Pearl ep.

Whew! Still with me? Thank you if you made it this far! I so appreciate you stopping by! 

Hugs,

Jeanne

Play Day!

Hello there!

I had a day off yesterday that I told no one about, just so I wouldn't get told...since you have the day off, can you...You know what I mean, right? I had such high hopes of getting all these cards made and wouldn't you know it, that didn't happen. but I did get one completed, so that's good. 

But first up...in my last post I mentioned that my daughter was working on a rollercoaster project and I was asked to share the completed project. Here you go! I did take video of the marble running through it, but there were some false starts and I don't know how to edit that out, so trust me when I say, the marble does go through the track with out jumping it...most of the time. Thankfully for the girls, it worked perfectly the first time the teacher tried it. Yay! :) They also shared a write up of what they learned about different kinds of energy (potential, kinetic and also friction). I think I said they were learning about Newton's Laws of Motion. Oops, I was wrong (not a surprise). That's the unit they have just started this week. I jumped the gun.

Anyway, the theme of their rollercoaster was Steampunk, which is why you see that fancy base. I think they did a great job on it. They had high hopes of making this even more intricate, but they realized it would take much more time than they had available to do that. They were very happy with the completed project. All the projects the class did looked amazing. I never did anything like this when I was in middle school (well, junior high is what it was called way back when...you know in the Stone Age).

I shared this on my Instagram account a bit ago, but never did get this up on the blog. I follow different colorists on You Tube and now on Instagram. As I think I've shared before, these colorists create tutorials or show what they are doing as they color. One colorist always attacts my eye because I just love the color combinations she uses. Her name is Julie and you can find her channel here. Recently she did a three part video series on the butterfly in Magical Jungle. It helps that she uses Prismacolor pencils. I absolutely fell in love with the colors she used on the butterfly and I simply felt compelled to color the butterfly. My hand is a little lighter than hers, but what really sets off the coloring is the use of the white pencil to fully blend the colors. I just bought another white pencil last week because I am using it so much. :)

I am so happy with how this looks!

Gosh, I wish I had more time to color.

And finally, here is the single card I was able to create yesterday. Oh my, I totally copied the one that inspired this. Karin, of Peppermint Patty's Papercraft, is mega talented. She creates and shares the most beautiful watercolors! And she makes fantastic cards, too. Oh, to have such talent to come up with these fantastic projects. You should check out her blog, if you have never been. Anyway, last month she shared this card and I was completely and utterly smitten. 

Here's my version of the card. 

Yep, a complete CASE, but colored with pencils and not Copics. I was also intrigued by the paper shaker bits. That die is also from Mama Elephant. I like the idea of picking the colors you want in cardstock.  Thank you so much for the inspiration, Karin! (if you ever stop by and read this) 

I have to say though, I didn't anticipate how long it would take to create the card when I sat down. There's inlaid die cutting. I colored a bunch of images thinking I'd make a couple of cards (snort) and then there's the frame. Oh, the frame about did me in. LOL I don't have frame die cuts so I was trying to finagle it with dies I do own and...well, it wasn't pretty. I was getting a bit frustrated. So, I ended up just cutting strips and using them. It worked. I should have added some interest to the strips, but at that point I wanted to be done. LOL If you could have heard me talking to myself throughout the making of the card, you'd be laughing your head off!

Okay, so my leaves are a bit different than hers. Well, I picked up some Spectrum Noir glitter pens at Hobby Lobby recently. (I went on a bit of a shopping spree with my first paycheck of the school year, if you can't tell). I thought the fall colors were so pretty. I tested them on some Lawn Fawn die cut leaves. I just had them laying out, so I added them to the card. They are pretty sparkly!  The sentiment is also from Lawn Fawn, as is the banner.  The cardstock is all Close To My Heart...Goldrush, Honey, Ocean and Cranberry. Some (or all) of them could be retired colors, but I don't keep track of that now. I saw on another card the use of a lighter teal with fall colors and I thought that was so neat. So that's why you see a bit of the dark teal color in with the others in the shaker bits. That's for you, Michele. (smile)

The girls and I have the day off today. Teacher inservice day. Yesterday was conferences, which are scheduled for all day in elementary, but after school only in middle and high school. If I can squeak in some crafty time you might see me back.

Promises, promises.

Thanks ever so much for stopping by! 

Hope you have an awesome weekend!

Hugs,

Jeanne

Sharing a card and a bit of an update!

Hi There!

Long time no see. Oh my gosh, I'm sorry I've been absent for so long. My life has been a real whirlwind since mid-August. School started and we were short staffed in the kitchen. My assistant manager got a new job outside the school district. Yay for her, but not so much for us. My other co-worker was out for the first couple of weeks as she needed more time to recover from foot surgery she had right after school got out last May. We've had a couple of different people come in to fill spots temporarily until a new assistant manager could come in. I was going in early to help with breakfast, too. Busy times! We have our new assistant manager now and while she's a trainee, she's doing a good job. I think she'll be a good fit for our kitchen. Whew.

My dad arrived for a two week visit a couple of weeks after school started. Yay! That was fun and a bit hectic as well. He did get to attend Amy's first football game of the season and enjoyed listening to her band play. 

Back to school means back to Bingo and this next weekend competition season starts.

Amy's had more homework so far this year and a lot of it requires her to use the computer, so I've been bumped off quite a bit, too. No biggie, but it eats into posting time. 

Jessica has had a quieter start to the year, but is, as I type this, she's working on a 3-D rollercoaster project that demonstrates Newton's Laws of Motion. She has a classmate partner working with her. They are using tubing and dowels and other supplies to create a roller coaster that will hopefully allow a silver marble run the entire track. There's a loop involved! Fingers crossed it works the way it's supposed to when they get done. 

On Friday our family went to Elitch Gardens (our amusement park) for Employee Day through my husband's job. We had a good time. However, the evening was cut a little short due to a thunderstorm that passed over us. (The forecast was isolated showers...guess we know where they were isolated to). I got pinged on the top of my head with a pea sized (well a little larger than pea sized) hail stone. Those puppies hurt!

I thought I'd share a few photos

The girls on the gondola ferris wheel. 

The sunset was really pretty when we were at the top of the ferris wheel. 

Here we are waiting in line for the Twister roller coaster. We never did get on the ride as the storm was approaching with lightning and thunder causing the ride to be stopped until it passed. Being it was close to the end of the night, we just left. 

And finally...I have a card to share! Believe it or not, I started this card early last month and only got the critters stamped and colored, as well as the heat embossing. Then it sat until last weekend when I snuck in a few minutes to try to finish this past weekend. The design is a case from Tara Sell's card, but darn it, I cannot find it on her blog. I also looked on her You Tube channel and no luck. Sorry! Anyway, I pretty much cased it completely. I think the changes are that I colored with pencils and I added the thanks to a banner. I also used different Doodlebug paper. 

Whew, that's it from me for now. 

Hopefully I will be able to craft again sometime soon.

Thanks for stopping by. I do so appreciate the visit.

Hope your week is off to a good start.

Hugs,

Jeanne

Secret Garden Treehouse Finished :)

 Hi There!

I'm back again today to share my completed Secret Garden treehouse picture. 

I'm really happy with how it came out.

The only bummer is the pencil mark that was accidentally added and won't be erased.

Hope you like it, too. :) 

I decided not to add a background. Mainly because I don't know what to add and I want to move on to other pages. :)

I so appreciate your very kind comments on my coloring. Thank you very much for leaving such encouraging words. Makes me feel good, that is for sure and helps me feel good about continuing to color.

That's it for now.

Thanks so much for stopping by. 

I hope you have an amazing day.

Hugs,

Jeanne

Colored Fish Card

Hi There!

I colored again today! Yay, me! I completely cased this card by Sandy Allnock. Man, is she a great colorist. I probably would never have wanted this stamp set if not for her card. I was mesmerized as I watched her You Tube tutorial on how she colored the Avery Elle Fish. I did my best to follow what she did and recommended. 

Overall, I think it came out pretty well for a first time effort of trying to get these highlights. She said she barely put the pencil on the paper with any pressure. I kept trying to do the same thing. Her coloring looked darker than mine, though. If I kept practicing, I might get better at it. I'm not as happy with my background. My bubbles looked pretty bad, so I covered them with Stickles. Sparkles solve a lot of issues. :)

Anyway, I adore these fish in fun colors. They look pretty silly and the sentiment does it's job...it makes me smile. :)

I also started a new page in The Secret Garden coloring book. Actually, it's the first page I have even colored in the book.  I didn't get very far after I finished this card, though. I haven't taken a picture yet. Maybe tomorrow. 

Thanks ever so much for stopping by. I appreciate the visit.

Hope you are having a great weekend.

Hugs,

Jeanne

Fox is Finished!

Hi There!

Just thought I'd pop in to share the fox that I just finished today. 

While I was initially disappointed that I couldn't get the same soft and smooth look as the colorist who inspired me to color the picture, I decided to not let that bother me too much any more. I just enjoyed the coloring. 

In The Enchanted Forest the squirrel page is on the left page and this fox is on the right. It's like the fox is looking at the squirrel. Maybe a bit hungrily?? I hope not!!

Hope you like. Thanks for all the encouraging comments on my coloring. They mean so much to me and make me smile really big! :)

Thanks so much for stopping by.

I hope you have a fantastic weekend!

Hugs,

Jeanne

Vacation Pictures & Coloring Challenge

Hi There!

Hope you are having a great day. Last weekend we loaded up the family van and headed out for a road trip to Sioux Falls, South Dakota. Steve's family lives there. While I had computer access, I didn't keep up with emails and blogs and stuff, so I am a bit behind on commenting. Just in case you were wondering where I was. 

Hope you don't mind a few vacation pictures. 

On July 4th we headed into downtown Sioux Falls to check out their sculpture walk. On the main street in downtown there are many sculptures to take in and buy, if you had the inclination and the money. We did this a couple of years ago and had a great time. They change the sculptures each year. I thought this one was really neat. Those are cat faces made from boat motor cases! Jessica is partial to kitties and she was enamored with this display. If you check out the link above, the picture on the main page is a bunch of books. Jessica really liked that one, too. :) You can scroll through the photos if you like to see sculptures. They were pretty cool. 

On the 5th, we drove to Walnut Grove, Minnesota. For those of you who may wonder why in the world we would do that,Walnut Grove is one of the places where Laura Ingalls Wilder (of Little House fame) lived. My girls are standing on the bank of Plum Creek! We also saw the indentation where the dugout  they lived in was. The roof has long since caved in. We toured the museum, which had a couple of rooms dedicated to the television series. While fun, any resemblance to her life in the series was purely coincidental. The center area outside the museum is planted with plants that would have grown back when she lived there. So pretty. There were several buildings to tour, although not all of them had items directly related to her. There were a few other locations in town we could have gone to, but we were running out of time and it was really hot and humid.  I can now state that I have visited three of the towns where Laura lived. I've also toured De Smet, South Dakota and Rocky Ridge Farm in Mansfield, Missouri. Happy Sigh!

We also visited the Sertoma Butterfly House and Marine Cove. Steve is the only one who got a hitchhiker this time. I just love how active the butterflies are in this place. Much more so than the butterflies in the Butterfly Pavilion here. 

And here I am. They had these "selfie stations" set up. Only, if you did a selfie with one of these signs the saying would show up backwards. Hrm...so one of the girls took this one of me. 

And that concludes the vacation picture portion of this post. Hopefully I didn't bore you. 

 We had a good time, but it's always good to be home. 

There is a 30 Day Coloring Challenge going on thanks to Kathy R of The Daily Marker blog. I love the idea of the challenge, but haven't really participated before. Today I made sure to sit down and do some coloring. 

Here's the first thing I worked on. It's not finished, but this is as far as I got. I just got this stamp set from Simon Says Stamp. I was inspired to make this from Suzy Plantamura. If you've not checked her blog, Living My Dream out, you should. She does a series of using one stamp set at least five ways. She also creates great coloring card fronts and sells them at Simon Says stamps. Anyway, I loved the series she did with this stamp set. I used Artist Loft watercolors. Artist Loft is the house brand Michaels sells. 

The goal of this coloring challenge is to do some coloring every day, it doesn't matter if you finish a project. I like that no pressure approach. 

I also started this page in a coloring book I've had for months. I bought it at Hobby Lobby, but I'm sure you can find it at other craft stores or online. Here's a link to the artist who drew the images. 

That's it from me today. I'm sure that this is quite enough. :)

Thanks so much for stopping by. I hope you have a great start to your week!

Hugs,

Jeanne

Make a Wish and a Squirrel!

Hello again!

Wow, I'm posting two days in a row. Go me! :) A card and another coloring page to share. 

First up, the card. I was inspired by this one made by Yuunson Hur. I really liked the rainbow ink blending and how the heat embossed candles stood out. And I braved flicking a little Martha Stewart pearl paint onto the card. I'm so nervous to do that for fear I will mess the card up. I really like the font in the word Wish. The stamp and wonky stitched die are from My Favorite Things. 

I realized after I posted yesterday, I've shown current pictures of Jessica, but not of Amy. Here she is doing 'the whip' after blowing out the candles on her cupcakes. Silly girl, but she has a bright smile on her face and I'll take that any day. 

I finished another coloring page from The Enchanted Forest! The image isn't quite as detailed as the other ones I've colored, so I was able to get it mostly done yesterday.  Maggie's Colours posted a how to video on how she colored the squirrel and I was really impressed with the soft colors and her blending skills. Even as a how to, her video goes quickly and I stopped it often. She used a different brand of pencils than I have, and they may have had a different type of lead. My blending isn't as soft as hers, but I really liked some of the color combinations. The leaves right under his cheek with the yellow, greenish color and blue really made me smile. 

Again, some of these color combinations I never would have thought of to try, so I am grateful for these videos to help me get out of my color choice box. :)

That's it from me today. I hope you have a great start to your weekend and a Happy 4th to all my American friends. :) Be safe. 

Hugs,

Jeanne

A Couple of Cards to Celebrate and a New Colored Page to Share

How is it the end of June already? Yikes! Before I know it, it'll be back to school time and my days of relaxing will be gone! I'm relaxing so well, I've barely made any cards! Ruh-roh. I've got a few things to share today though. :)

First up is a card I made after being inspired by this one by Nichol Spohr Magouirk. I thought it was adorable. I don't own any of those fancy schmancy watercolor pens, but I do own some watercolor pencils and that is what I used on this card. I also just used Lawn Fawn's Here's the Scoop set. I don't own the other one she used. Can you see the sparkle on the thanks? I added the new Spectrum Noir sparkle pens to my stash and am really impressed with how shimmery it looks.

Next up is a card that my daughter Jessica made for her sister, Amy, who just turned...gulp, 15 last weekend. Oh my word, now we have to think about all new kinds of milestones...like driving. Nope, not gonna do that just yet. I'm not ready. Even if she's chomping at the bit. LOL

Anyway, not that I am biased or anything, but I think Jessica did a fabulous job on the card. I showed her this one made by the fabulous Kay Miller and she was eager to get started. She modified it to have purple stripes as purple is Amy's favorite color. :)

Awww...sisterly love. 

I have been struggling to sit down in my crafty corner to work on cards because I've totally been bitten by the coloring bug. Thanks, in large part, to You Tube. I am awed by the coloring talent that is out there. I am also so thankful that they film and share how they are coloring the pages for all of us newbies to watch and learn. 

I want to thank you so much for the very kind and encouraging comments that you've left for me in regards to my coloring. They mean a lot to me and I am truly touched that you like what I color. I am not trained in art in any way. I struggle mightily to come up with ideas on my own. Give me a blank page, or an uncolored image, and I really don't know what to do. I have spent lots of time trying to come up with something appealing on my own from scratch and it is extremely frustrating for me. I just cannot do it. So, I copy. I see something I like and I try to recreate it and put my own spin on a part of it. It may not be a huge change, but I will do something a bit different that makes it more my own. But the inspiration is always from a source that is not me. That's why I never call myself an artist. I don't feel like I am one. I'm a copier for sure. And I always credit the project that inspired me. 

That being said, I saw this video on You Tube and fell in love with the colors. And I had to color the page using those same colors. You saw one of the combos on my bee page.

Aren't the colors so pretty? This dragonfly is in The Enchanted Forest by Johanna Basford. 

The video is in three parts and I have to admit, the quality of the video isn't that great. She said in the comments that this was the only video that she has made that was of the poor quality. But I didn't really care. I set up my tablet at my table and colored along with her, stopping when needed. There is a third video on how she did the background and I didn't really like how it looked, so I opted not to add color to the background. I am very happy with how this turned out. 

I've already started another page. 

Hooked, I tell you. I am hooked!

Thanks so much for stopping by. 

I hope you have a happy day!

Hugs,

Jeanne

Pitcher of Tulips

Hi there!

Today I decided to color a Power Poppy digital image called Tulips in Hobnail Pitcher and used two of the samples in the listing for the image as my inspiration for coloring. I just used my Prismacolor pencils today. No odorless mineral spirits this time.  My friend, Barb, always inspires me when she shares her colored images. If you haven't checked out her blog, you really should. 

I really liked the look of having some of the flowers come off the edge of the cardstock. I saw this one one of the sample cards and recreated it and the banner for the sentiment as well. On another sample, I was drawn to the pink and peach tulips and I did my best to get a similar look. I am fairly certain the artist used Copics on the cards that inspired me. I must say, I'm pretty happy with the final result. I almost added Wink of Stella, but decided to keep the flowers "au natural."  ;) I am also pretty happy with how the leaves turned out.  And once, I covered part of the pitcher, I liked it a lot more, too. The highlight looks a lot more realistic. 

The plaid paper is from Lawn Fawn, the yellow cardstock is Die Cuts With a View brand. I used a ruler and pen to frame the image. 

We have 9 school days left in this year. I can hardly believe it! Maybe I'll find a little more time to get crafty more often. One can hope.

In the meantime, thanks so much for stopping by. 

I hope you have a great start to your week.

Hugs,

Birthday Card Inspired by Laura Bassen with Some Wax Paper Resist

Hi There!

Guess what? I had the house to myself for a few hours yesterday. I cannot tell you the last time that has happened. :) I tried to take advantage of it. While I knew I probably should have done some yard work outside, I did not! I headed straight for my crafty space and tried to get some cards made. 

I read a blog recently(stationery Styles by Patti) where Patti shared that she made some background papers. It's the post here.  Anyway, she watched a technique video on StampTV with GinaK and used the beautiful backgrounds she created on some cards. I vaguely remember this technique from years ago and wanted to play. Thanks for sharing that info, Patti! So, I did that before I got started on a card. In fact, I made 5 backgrounds using various embossing folders and distress inks.

Here are three of the backgrounds I created. I've used the other two. 

One on a card I'm sharing here. 

And here it is!

This card is my take on one created by Laura Bassen as seen here. Have you seen her work or watched her videos? Oh my gosh, I adore the videos because she always sounds so happy and fun. I have a feeling she'd be a blast to hang out with. 

Anyway, I really liked the ink blended background piece she created in the blues and greens.

She was promoting  Simon Says Stamp products, which I don't own. So, I improvised. To make the Polaroid looking piece, I used a rectangle and a square Nestability die together. Eh, it sorta worked. :)

My little raccoon guy is a Lawn Fawn party animal colored with my Prismacolor pencils and the heart balloon is from another LF set(Hello Sunshine I think). I tried to make the fur look like fur, but I wasn't entirely successful. The sentiment is Avery Elle. And that green background is the waxed paper resist using Twisted Citron distress ink. 

Wish I could have gotten more cards made, but I had fun with what I was able to create. 

Amy and I had to work Bingo last night, and it was what they call a "must go" which means that there was a $5000 jackpot that someone would be winning. (Hence, the term "must go"). The patrons come out in full force for this and it was was quite busy the second session of the night. We didn't finish up until 1 am. I was doing pretty good today until I sat down for a few minutes. Um, the next thing I know, the afternoon is pretty much gone. Yep, guess I was  a smidge pooped. Ha, ha!

Thanks so much for stopping by. And thanks, too for the encouragement I received on my previous post. I appreciate it so much. 

Have a great day and a great start to your week!

Hugs!

It's So Sparkly, Too!

Hi There!

I hope you had a lovely holiday and are ready for the start of a brand-spanking new year. Our Christmas was quiet, but nice. It's been quite nice to have some downtime. Wish it was a smidge warmer, but it's winter, so I guess I can't complain too loudly.  Amy got a new Wii U game called Yoshi's Wooly World. It's pretty neat because all the graphics look like the things are created by being crocheted or knitted-if you watch the little video you'll see what I mean. The girls are much, much better at the game than I am, but I keep playing, dying, and laughing like a loon.

Today I managed to do a little playing in my crafty space. Here's what I came up with. I didn't "copy" anyone here (and you may be able to really tell). I pulled out a bunch of snowmen and snow related products and told myself to just play. This is what I ended up with. There's lots of sparkle!

The stamp set is Lawn Fawn's Ready, Set, Snow. The pattern paper (which you don't see used too often these days) is Doodlebug's Frost Friends (as are the snowflakes). The glittery base is glittered fun foam from Michaels. There's a Hero Arts background swirly stamp used. I remember being so enamored with that stamp a couple of years ago and I had to have it. Of course, I've not used it nearly enough. Today, I pulled it out, stamped it with Versamark ink and poured a silvery sparkly embossing powder from Michaels over it and heat embossed. Then I tried adding some distress ink (Broken China and Milled Lavendar) to create a sky. I probably should have done the inking first and then the embossing, but I was really playing and going with the flow. The images are colored with my colored pencils and today is the first time I played the purple pencil. It's gorgeous!! 

Edited to add: My friend, Carol, of Just Me:c left me a comment about a challenge on the Simon Says Blog here. She felt I should enter this card into the challenge. I decided to go ahead and try it. Thanks for the information and the link, Carol. We'll see what happens. There are a lot of entries. Great place for inspiration, that is for sure. :)

That's it from me for right now. Thanks so much for stopping by. I hope you are having a great day.

Trying the Coloring Challenge for a Minute

Hi Friends,

My friend, Barb, is participating in a 30 day coloring challenge being hosted by The Daily Marker. She is sharing her projects each day and I have found it very inspiring.

So, today I sat down to color an image called Fluttering By to Say Hi that I picked up at Tiddly Inks the other day. I was inspired to get that from this post on Handmade by Christine.

This is as far as I got.  I didn't even notice the hair on the paper until I was editing the photo. Oops.

We'll see if this ever makes it into a card, but even if it doesn't, it was fun coloring. 

Thanks for the inspiration Barb and The Daily Marker blog!

Have a great rest of your week. 

*Ü*

Hugs,

Jeanne

Hello~Autumn Teddy Card

Happy Saturday, Friends!

I was able to color and finish putting another card together yesterday, but didn't get a chance to post it. I was inspired once again by the work done on The Crafty Sister blog here. This gal does an awesome job with her Copics, that is for sure. I couldn't resist that adorable teddy bear(found here). 

Here's my attempt with my colored pencils and odorless mineral spirits (and Happy Harvest Doodlebug paper). The sentiment is from Lawn Fawn's So Much to Say set. Kraft and brown cardstock from my stash. 

It's a pretty straightforward case. But, I do try to put a little tweak to it to make it mine. :)

Thanks so much for stopping by. I have a few more images I want to color, so who knows...maybe I'll be back again this weekend. (Take that as a threat or promise, depending on your perspective, of course).

In the meantime, hope you have a creative day! Thanks so much for stopping by.

Jeanne