Mad for Paper

Hi there, Today, I am playing along with the  A Blog Named Hero Challenge. I fell in love with this stamp, Antique Bee and Flowers, the moment I saw it.   The detail on the bee is amazing and it embossed beautifully. A little Copic coloring on the wreath. The background was made with the Hero Arts Honeycomb stencil and Butter Bar ink. The sentiment is StampinUp. Thanks for visiting Ang

I have been gone a while.  Just regular life stuff; end of school year, laziness, graduations, laziness, birthdays, laziness etc. I have been making cards though (lots of photos). Love this cutie pie from MFT, so many fun little details: And this beauty, love the way it turned out: Sizzix card die and mostly MFT.  The gorgeous papers are from Bazzil. A pretty simple thank you card:   Another simple card using a mixture of SU and W+9     love those little cloths pins and  some very subtle clouds in the background. Thanks for stopping by! Ang

Hi Everyone,   It's time for an  end of the term blog hop over at House of Cards  and we have a super fun challenge AND tons of great prize opportunities for those of you who join in the fun! You should have arrived here from Vanessa's blog .  If you haven't, please start all the way back at the House of Cards hop post and follow the list found in the body of the hop post! This is my first DT Blog Hop.  I am very happy to say that I am staying on with HOC for the next six months.  It has been so much fun and really pushed me out of my comfort zone a couple of times. Here is the beautiful inspiration photo for the hop.  I really love this image and was inspired to make two completely different cards.   Both of which are a little over the top for me, but I love both of them. We have some great sponsors and they not only provided us all with inspiration; images, digital paper and stamps, they also prov...

Today I have two cards for you, just for the fun of it and because I love these Art Impressions People stamps.  I love coffee themed stamps so I had to have coffee lady.  I love her hair.    The sentiment is from an old MFT set. She is off in the mail to a friend. This second gal just cracks me up. check out the inside. Hope you are having a great holiday. Ang

Hi All, It is time, once again, for my part in the House of Cards monthly challenge . Check out this beautiful inspiration photo: This is a gorgeous shot, but I gotta tell you, these colors are hard for me.  Yellow is my least favorite color to work with.  Purple pulls up a close second.   I was struck by the kind of ethereal quality of the photo, with the blurred background.  Tried to go with that. Between coloring the bird and getting the splats right, I think it took about 5 tries.  I colored the bird on the back of vellum and smudged it about 5 times.   I am not patient when it comes to waiting for things to dry. So, here is my card:  Even as I was putting my last version together (having waited for everything to dry) I was sure it wasn't going to work.  But, once I got the vellum leaves down, I really started to like it.   I added dots of Stickels in ice and pink.  A cheery sentiment and antiqu...

I can't believe it is already time for the HOC April Challenge .   Wasn't it just new years? Anyway, this month we have a sketch for you at HOC: I wanted to play with some new Avery Elle stamps and dies.  I love this set, Bottle it Up.  My card is a little shabby; I wasn't so sure about the vintage part of my assignment.  I figured, we had terrariums when I was a kid and I am "vintage".  So, I am calling it good. I popped up the top layer.  You can't really see it in the photo, but I added a clear sheet behind the die cut to look like glass.  I also gave the inside of the image a little spray.  A little bit of cork for the top. I love the font on this set, there are several basic sentiments in it. Pop on over to HOC and join us this month.  It's a lot of fun! Ang

Hi everyone,  We have an extra week in March which means we can sneak in another challenge over at the House of Cards Challenge Blog . Make any style of card using this inspiration photo: I just love the fresh look of this photo. I used a new (to me) technique on this card.  I took a class at my LSS recently and learned a new way to use my Copic markers.  This technique works best with brush stroke style stamps.  This was another plus since I love the look of brush stroke stamps but always had trouble using them.   Not sure to color them or not. With this technique, you color right on the stamps using Copics.  You can layer the colors too.  The ink will dry out on the stamp but that is OK.  When you are done coloring, you spritz the stamp with Copic blending solution and stamp.  The more solution you use, the more the color will spread.  It was fun and every time you stamp you get a different look. The instructor t...

Hi Everyone, Today I have a card for the House of Cards March Challenge .  This month the only requirement is that we use a button. A friend of mine gave me a handful of vintage buttons that she had found at a yard sale.   This Beautiful Blue baby was one of them.  It matched perfectly with these gorgeous Graphic45 Botanical Tea papers. A few pearls: And some pretty lace: This lace is pretty thick, so I didn't want to wrap it around the paper leaving a big bump.  I cut it about an inch longer than my paper, adhered it right up to the edges.  Then I ran a little Fraycheck right along the edge of the paper where I wanted to cut the lace.  Let it dry, cut it and it hasn't frayed in a few days.  Love the way it looks. Head on over to the HOC blog and check out all of the inspiration. Thanks Ang

Hi Everyone, Today is the start of the House of Card February Challenge #1 .   Here is the Inspiration photo and colors for the Challenge: I really like bright colors and have a tough time with softer colors like these. My card:  I wanted to add a vintage look to the frame (after I accidentally made a gold smudge on it) so I just kind of scribbled on it with a gold leaf pen.  It looks best from farther away.  I also wanted a little texture behind the frame; I added a piece of SU white waffle paper.  I'm not sure if they even sell it anymore. I stamped the flowers in grey and then colored them in with ink and a water pen.   I really like the soft effect it gives.  Besides the roses, the first thing to catch my eye was the little ruffle at the bottom of the skirt.  I wanted to include that somehow on my card.  I pleated white paper after I had spritzed it with some pink and gold Lindy's Stamp Gang mist...

Hi Everyone,   Today I have my first card up at HOC as a DT member. Here is the sketch: I am so excited.  It was actually supposed to post last Monday, but being new to the whole DT thing, I completely ignored the instructions and  missed the posting altogether.  Live and learn. This is actually a card/gift in one.  I have had the cameo pin for a few years and thought it would be perfect for the Shabby Vintage theme of the challenge. I have always loved cameos.   This one is given a little bit of a modern twist; made into a pin with beads and chain.  Love it! Thanks for stopping by, be sure and check out all the inspiration over at HOC . Ang