Practice Makes Perfect

Well ok, maybe practice doesn't make perfect.  But it does help improve your skills. 

After getting advice from Cora & watching many youtube videos, I thought I would try coloring some more.  Gamsol was recommended to use to help blend the colored pencils.  Of course, there are no stores near me that sell it.  Well, a couple do......if I want some massive jug of it.  I don't even know if I will like it!  So while I wait for my little bottle to arrive by mail, I tried baby oil again.  I printed a digi from Whimsy Stamps called "Santa's Puppy."  I know Christmas is over but at the time, it was the easiest digi in my files to find that had very simple lines. 

I am really happy with the way this turned out.  I wish I could get my colors a little darker/vibrant without having to press so hard.  But I guess that will come with practice.  The only thing I don't care for is the "border" that appeared on the outside of image due to the baby oil.  Not sure if it would have happened if I used a blending stub instead of a Q-tip.  But the blending stubs are coming with my little bottle of Gamsol.

Thanks for taking a peek!

Beary Much In Love

I got some goodies from my husband for Christmas that I had been itching to play with.  One of them was my box of Primsacolor colored pencils.  My sweet hubby even went above and beyond, because I asked for the 72 set and he bought me the 132 set!  So many choices!!

I've had this cute bear digi for awhile (back in the day before I started keeping record of who made what digi).  So I opened my pencil set and went to town.  Course, my 5 year old was really excited about Mommy's new pencils & he wanted to color too.  Sorry child, these are Mommy's pencils, go find your own!  He lost interest really fast & went to play with his firetruck instead.  I did use some baby oil to blend the colors.  Not too sure about that technique.  But haven't given up on it completely.

The papers are all from a huge paper pack I found on clearance at Joanne (for $4.50!!).  And part of the reason it was marked down, it was missing the front cover.  Well, it had a tiny corner still intact.  So I have no idea who makes the paper. 

The sketch is one of OWH's (#152 to be exact).  I actually saw a card that was posted on SRM's flickr page and thought I really like that layout.  Come to find out, it was from and OWHer.  Go figure!

Robot Style

Finally!  Yesterday, I had an idea in my head for a card.  But when it came to making the card, nothing was working.  I ended up with 4 different cards in the trash.  Then scrolling through OWH's page on Facebook, I saw some cards that Cindy McNeil had posted.  She had one on there with a dog & thought, "that's it!"

So today, back to my desk I go with a different idea in my head.  And wouldn't you know it, the card came together.  So far, one card has been made.  But everything is cut & ready to be assembled.  When I finish, I should have 8 to go in my box.

Robot digi stamp - Dearie Dolls Digi Stamps

Star paper - Bo Bunny "Blast Off" 6x6 paper pad

Circle embossing folder - Cuttlebug

Winner Winner, Chicken Dinner

Today is the day!  When one lucky person that commented on my blog about the Spellbinders dies gets chosen.  

How I chose a winner...... I asked my 5 year old son (5 & 3/4 if you ask him) to pick a number between 1 and 17.  His response was 1 and 17.  No, no, no.  Pick one number.  Ok, one!  Um, let's try this....pick a number between 1 and 17, like 5.  Oh, ok 5.  *Face palm*  Nevermind, I'll ask your father.  Honey pick a number between 1 and 17.  8.5.  SERIOUSLY?!  When he did get serious, he picked 9.

The winner is......

Jen Mueller!!

Congrats Jen, you have just won the Spellbinders die set.  I will be contacting you soon via email to get your address.

Thanks everyone who "played" along!

Spellbinders Nestabilities Up For Grabs!

Wow, didn't realize it's been awhile since I've done anything with my blog.  Guess I need to get on that.  But in the meantime, it's a good thing I'm blogging.  Why you ask?  Because I have a Spellbinders set up for grabs!

My dear hubby bought me some Spellbinders for Christmas.  When he opened the package that arrived, he noticed there were 2 of the same die sets.  He didn't want to mess with returning it until after Christmas.

Now there is a problem.  And here is where it gets a little complicated.  The actual die set is Labels 18.  But the package says Labels 9.  My husband can't return it because the invoice says Labels 18 (there is no record of Labels 9 being shipped to us).  Luckily, the set is what I wanted (the 18) but it took a little researching on Spellbinders page to realize this.

So, hopefully you were able to follow that & understand it.  But the only real thing that matters is, you get a chance to win this Labels 18 set.  All you need to do is leave a comment with your email address.  Please make sure to spell out your email or leave spaces (ex: janedoe at yahoo dot com OR janedoe @ yahoo . com).  I will leave it open until midnight (EST) Monday, December 31st.  I will randomly pick a winner on Tuesday & will contact the winner.  Good luck!!

Elegant Cards

I went through a very dry spell of making cards.  Nothing inspired me.  I didn't have the desire to make cards.  With the support of the wonderful ladies on Facebook, I just stepped back and let time go by.  And with my son tracked out of school for 3 1/2 weeks during that time, it was even harder to think of making cards.

Then the end of September came.  Which is my parent's anniversary.  I had to make them a card.  My mom loves my cards and is very appreciative of them.  So I looked through some inspiration cards and sketches and came up one that I knew they would love.

When I posted it on Facebook to share, everyone loved it.  I even got some suggestions that I could mass produce these.  I figured it would be perfect since I had recently bought a pack of wonderful design paper from Michaels. 

So I didn't mass produce the cards.  But I did make ten.  Four of them I used the sentiment "Missing You" and six using the sentiment "Thinking of You."  I really could mass produce these if I wanted.  They are super easy to make.  And great with pattern paper.  Maybe another time.  :o)

Christmas In August

I hate to admit it but Christmas is coming, whether I want it to or not.   I had a friend announce the other day that she bought her first Christmas gift.  It's a good thing she's not close by or I would have to smack her!  The deadline for Christmas cards is coming even faster.  So I might as well embrace it, instead of fighting it.

I saw a card online using the thread technique to make a Christmas tree.  And since I just got a goodie bag from Sarah of different color baker's twine for me to try out, I had to give it a whirl.  It's a very easy card to make.  The only issue I had was how much twine I needed without wasting.  Took a couple of tries, but I got it.

Pattern Paper ~ Oriental Trading Christmas Paper Pad

Star ~ Sizzix die

Baker's Twine ~ The Twinery (Pea Pod)