Growing Love

I love these little Lily of the Valley images!  Isn't that the cutest couple?  (by this, I'm referring to the image, lol.)  I love the little clothes and the scenes these stamps come in.   I had to surf the web a little to find some pictures with vintage colors and try to incorporate those into my copic colors for this image.  Some of these colors, like the olives, I have never used before.  So this was fun and challenging at the same time.  I am entering this in a few challenges I found.

1. Lili's Little Fairies Challenge - Ribbons and Bows.  This seam binding ribbon turned out to be the exact color I needed.  It was a gift from my Splitcoast Friend Linda, AKA Morningsun47.  I'm also going to enter into the Lili's guest designer contest.  Crossing my fingers.

2. Glitz April Blog Challenge - Spring is in the air.  This image is definitely Spring, it's called Growing Love and I've added a few Spring time roses.   The paper I used is Glitz - pretty in pink. 

3. Bloggers Challenge Friday - To Die For - using your dies.  I used my MFT's roses die-namics and also my new Spellbinders - bitty blossoms (center/main flower). I also used MFT's doily die. 

4. Fashionista Challenge - Anything goes for girls.  Well, girls love vintage paper, being in love, and pretty flowers, beautiful ribbon, so I think this qualifies.

5. MFTWSC4 - I used the sketch from My Favorite Things.  I am still catching up on last years sketches I missed out on. 

Guess What This Is?

This is 20+ inches of my hair hanging to dry out, so I can send it off to locks of love. Can you believe it? I knew it was getting long but I had no idea it would be 20 inches. lol. Feels good to be rid of it and for those who just drew in a giant gasp, relax, it grows so fast! It took me 3 years and 4 months to grow 20 inches of hair.

I wasn't even sure if the guy who cut my hair the last time would still be at the salon down the road, but he was. I was so happy. It's not very often I go in for a hair cut, lol. I don't even trim it, I just grow it, lol. So it feels so different and so light and airy now. I have a modified long bob now and I'll enjoy it while it lasts....lol...it grows so fast!

This will be my third donation to locks of love. I waited a little longer this time than usual because I wanted just a "few more inches" to go, than the last time. I hope this can bring something positive to an otherwise horrifying situation. It's what I can do, so that is my part.

Now who else has a pony tail drying from their ceiling fan? lol. Yep, I'm different, lol.

I'll be back later to upload a card I made last night and earlier today.

Sitting here thinking of you

Is she not the cutest thing?  I love this stamp, no mouth though.  Is that so she can't talk back? lol.  I had this one inked up and was trying various things and then I thought I really just need to color her up and finally make a card with her.  Unfortunately I did not notice until the final inspection that I should have had her sitting a wee bit higher on the stump, but after hours of masking, airbrushing, coloring and paper piercing, I'm thinking it just doesn't matter, lol.  I am entering this one in a few challenges:

All that scraps Wednesday Challenge - the sketch
In fact, this is a CC design I believe and it is available at All that scraps.  On their blog, there are many tutorials and designers who have tutorials, somewhere along the line there is a tutorial for masking so you can see how you stamp the girl, then stamp the stump.  I knew this from prior experience, but it's a great visual on their post.  And then when you airbrush, you just leave those masks in place until you are done. 

Simon Says Challenge - use your favorite tool.  Hmmmm, that would be my copic airbrush at this time, lol.  I did airbrush the sky and the ground. 

Little Darlings Challenge 20 - "Outside".  To make people or things outdoors.  I looked around to see if I had a Little Darlings stamps and I don't!  Wow, had to remedy that one right away, lol. 

Now if you are following along with my blog, you already know I took that fabulous airbrushing class at my local scrappy store and had (can you tell I found my bold button, lol) to have one!  And very recently I found the wonderful blog of Delphine's Place. She does this fabulous grass thing and I had to do it again.  In fact, I think I pretty much like that as much as my airbrush, lol. 

I get so tickled with all the comments that are coming, thank you so much!  I love blogging and stamping and sharing and finding and telling.  I was just talking with my friend Trishia last night and I was telling her about all these great challenges and blogs I found.  I could not ever begin to link up all the blogs and people who I have learned from along the way.  That would be mission impossible!   But I can link up the latest and greatest finds that I want to try out and then move on from there.  I learned how to color with copics from on-line video tutorials.  I've watched way too many of them to remember who and where, but I so appreciate them sharing and taking the time to upload video's.  Most of those video's I've watched on line are from fellow artists who are not copic certified and have come up with their own color combinations and techniques.  I always learn something with each and every one.  Without them, I would not know how to color with alcohol markers at all.  And that goes all the way down to basic stamping.  So Thank You to my fellow bloggers who have shared so many wonderful ideas and techniques!

Holly

One Cup is Never Enough! MFTWSC66 and CTD186

Okay, I am having way too much fun blog hopping around and checking out all the challenges and stamping.  I have NOT cleaned house.  I have NOT done laundry.  I have NOT moved from this spot for hours on end. lol.   It has been a great Staycation.  I was up at 3:00 this morning from a dream and then I could not get back to sleep, so I got up and started in on this weeks sketch challenge over at MFT's.  While I was thinking about what I would use, I came across this weeks color throw down challenge, (CTD186).  Something I have seen quite a bit but not participated in too much, if ever.  OH what a challenge with this sketch combined, lol!  That is one busy card, but hopefully I pulled it off okay.  I tried to add ribbon but it was over the top too much, so I just left it as it was.

I am a coffee drinker and one cup is NEVER enough, lol.

Supplies:
Stamps: Always time for tea and dies by MFT's
Paper: S.U. kraft and red (retired), vanilla, and MME stella and rose mabel papers 6X6 pad.
Ink: Early Espresso S.U.  (no copics, can you believe it?!)
Spellbinder circles, brads, MFT mini monarch border

Thanks for looking!
Holly

We're suppose to put WHAT in the soup? The Paper Variety Challenge, MFTWSC13

I LOVE these new stamps I got from Paper and Such. They crack me up. Maybe because I lived on a farm for a while when I was a child, not sure, but they tickle my funny bone.

The Paper Variety Challenge is to make a card with a matching envelope. I had not really thought about decorating an envelope to match, but it only took a couple minutes longer and was by far the easiest thing about this, lol.

I also set a personal challenge to make up all the MFT's sketches that I missed last year, as well as try to keep up with this years sketches. First of all, they gave a prize in amount of stamp dollars for every sketch challenge we did last year and I totally ripped myself off! I said like 11 or 12, when in fact I did 19! The problem is that I did not upload them all on my blog and also, I did not label them all on Splitcoast Stampers with the sketch challenge number. So note to self, label all the sketch challenge in the title. lol. For some reason, I cannot keep track of these, the two jobs, the kids, the husband and the house, all at the same time. I am 40-thing! lol.

Okay, on to my chickens. I airbrushed the sky and the ground....and yes, I am having way too much fun with this and wonder often now, "what else can I airbrush?" And I colored the rest with my copics. I used MME on the bright side 6X6 paper pack and some photo dies I recently purchased at MFT's. And I used S.U. twine. And I'll tell you, it makes me so mad when they use a partial piece and then start with another piece. Does this every happen to you? All the sudden the piece ends? And then there is a new beginning piece. In my mind, when I buy 25 yards, I want 25 continuous yards. Not 10 yards + 15 yards. lol. Okay, glad I got that off my chest. It's just one of those things that ticked me off today.

Have you ever wondered who used twine on a card first? I was thinking about that as I was rummaging through my various twines. Who was the first person and when did the twine craze kick in? There are even companies that just sell twine. I don't know, but it was a fabulous idea and I love it. lol.

Thanks for visiting my blog!

Feel Better

I made this for the My Favorite Things weekly sketch challenge. This is an a la mode, The rainbow will come. She is so cute and I love the Die-namic umbrella and stamp collection from the same release. So cute together. I used Jillibean Soup Southern chicken Dumpling Soup designer paper with Echo Park Dots and Stripes. I colored with copics and paper pierced the umbrella's. Again, I colored the S.U. pearls with my Copic marker.

But now more importantly, I airbrushed the sky again! I cannot get enough of this new toy, lol. It's like so easy with BIG results. I love sponging too but I really like the even color with airbrushing. I need to get into some more airbrushing classes soon, lol.

Jeep and I are off this week enjoying our Easter Vacation. Last Christmas break was the first time he was able to stay home and it has really been such a blessing for him to be able to kick back at home and not be institutionalized every time there is a school break. He is even starting to ask if I am planning on taking any time off during the summer, lol. Poor guy. This is our Staycation and we so love staying home, playing with our toys, eating when we want, watching too much T.V. (and too much computer time for me). But isn't that really what a vacation is all about? I know, I'm such a child. lol.

A Pampered Bunny is a Hoppy Bunny

I made this for the My Favorite Things Guest Designer Contest, as well as for the Card Patterns Sketch 159 challenge.

The MFT's Guest Design Challenge was a theme, "Do the Bunny Hop". It was to be interpreted anyway we wanted. Well, A Pampered Bunny is a Hoppy Bunny, so I decided the Easter Bunny would start there. Nice and relaxed prior to all those basket shipments, lol.

Loved working with this sketch, it is so great to find sketches for a baseline pattern to go by. This sketch left plenty of room for my image and I loved adding flowers on the side.

Paper: S.U. River Rock and Pink Pirouette, off brand cream colored. MME Be Happy.

Dies: Flower, oval, floral (flourish) and border are all Die-namics from MFT's.
Pearls: I colored these pearls with a Copic Marker, they are S.U. brand and color up very easily.
Ink: Memento Black and Copics.
Ribbon: is Seam Binding that I colored with TH distress old photo.