MDS Monday 100th Sketch Challenge!

Remember I blogged last week that I was going through old pictures and strolling down memory lane?!!  Well, one of the reasons is I wanted to find some great pictures to do a My Digital Studio challenge over at MDS Monday.  This is their 100th Sketch Challenge and they are giving away prizes!!  When I ran across these pictures taken several years ago (Cassidy is now a teenager!!), I knew they were the ones I wanted to use.  I remember this day so well.  We were in Tucson visiting Jeff and his family and we were babysitting.  It was a beautiful sunny day so Sonny and Cassidy found some bubbles and he taught her how to blow them.  She was so excited!

(Click on picture above to make it larger)

The challenge is running for two weeks and it started last week.  To enter the challenge, you select any of the past 99 sketches, create a new project, and link it to their website.  They have set up a Pinterest Board with all the past sketches.  That was the hard part!!  Which one do I choose?  But I knew I wanted a sketch that I could do the picture progression above.

The background paper is from World Traveler and I found the polka dot stamp in Beautiful Today and made it a watermark color.  I found this font that I love called Pea Ellie Bellie!  Don't miss the girl and boy sitting at the top blowing bubbles (from Storytime).   I found some stitching I liked in Family Fun and the Project Life Banner which I colored Lost Lagoon

I even made my own bubbles!!  I used a Circle Punch and color filled it with DSP from Watercolor Wonder and made them different sizes.  (Don't forget to add a drop shadow for extra dimension.)   I also used a few brads for my bubbles! Then it just had to have a little shine added.  To create the reflection,  I used the Freeform tool and moved the anchors around on the circle shape to get the shape for the shine.

So, the sketch that I used was # 65.  How do you think I did?  Would I win a prize??  It doesn't matter.  I just enjoy MDS so much!!

 

Make sure you go to the MDS Monday web site and check out the other sketches.

Thank You Cards

Are you in need of Thank You cards?  Well, these are a few that I included in my Stamp Club's purchases last week.  I always like to put a little something in their bags each month - ribbon, buttons, cards (which I don't sign so they can use them later ), etc.

The card above uses the Banner Blessings Photopolymer stamp.  You won't find this stamp in the catalog but it is available for purchase.  I really like it.  You can see a couple of other cards I made with the set HERE.  The other stamps I used in this card are Four Feathers and Gorgeous Grunge.  Doesn't the Certainly Celery go great with Coastal Cabana??

This cute little fellow is a single stamp that I have neglected!  I just think the little koala bear is darling.  The stamp actually read "thinking of YOU" but I stamped THANK from the Sale-a-Bration set, Simply Wonderful, cut it out and glued it on top of "thinking of"!  The Melon Mambo background paper is the Sale-a-Bration Irresistibly Yours DSP

This was a simple card.  I uses the Under the Tree DSP (from Holiday Catalog) and Hello You Thinlets.

Again .... Hello You Thinlets with the Sale-a-Bration Simply Wonderful stamp set and Best Year Ever DSP.

Simply Wonderful

In need of a few Thank You cards?  I made a few last week using different stamp sets.  These two use a set from the Sale-A-Bration catalog called Simply Wonderful.  I also used Best Year Ever DSP.

For the card above, I made the card base Hello Honey and the banner Calypso Coral.  It is a really simple card to make and who doesn't like quick and easy???

This card base is Calypso Coral.  The ribbon is the chevron ribbon but it is in Pumpkin Pie.  I thought it matched these colors really well.  I masked the "Thanks so very much" stamp for the top 3 "thanks" and stamped in Memento Black Ink.  I used different colors of Blendabilities to color in the "thanks."  The DSP is Sale-A-Bration Best Year Ever.

Lotus Blossom

I've been taking a trip down memory lane the past couple of days.  I am trying to get my pictures organized.  I found 10-15 CD's going back about 10-15 years so I have been going through them and transferring them to my portable hard drive, labeling them and deleting duplicates, etc.  Whew! I've been reviewing graduations, weddings, babies, etc!  Tuesday I ran across my son's wedding video from 10 years ago.  It was so sweet to sit and watch it all over again and reminisce when our relationship was better.  I still can't find the pictures I wanted that started me on this journey.  Back before the digital age, remember all the pictures we got developed and stuck in a box somewhere? Well, I'm afraid that is going to be my next task!

Oh well - on to a card that I CASE'd this weekend from Jan Tinkelberg.  She has a video on her blog (Stamps, Paper, Scissors) on how to make this card.  I can't take the credit!  But it is a gorgeous card using the Lotus Blossom.  It took me several tries to get it to look like I want but I finally got there.

Paper Craft Crew Challenge 130 and Blog Candy!!

It's time for my challenge from the Paper Craft Crew.  I got my card done in time and posted on the site .... I just didn't get it posted to my site earlier!!

Again, I fell back on My Digital Studio for my card.  I love the colors in this card - taken straight from the DSP - Pool Party, Calypso Coral, Sahara Sand and Black.  What do you think?

This month there is BLOG CANDY!!  You'll get:  Chevron Embossing Folder, Island Indigo Chevron Ribbon & the Banner Punch.



So make sure you check out the Paper Craft Crew Blog to see what the other designers have created using the sketch.

Mini Treat Bags

I really love these Mini Treat Bags and they are so easy to make and decorate.  I think they would be perfect for a little Valentine goodie!

This one I made at Allison's Stamp-a-ganza last month.  It uses the DSP from Sale-a-Bration.

This one is one that I made to give to my Club gals last month with a few candies in it.  I used the DSP Back to Black in the Annual Catalog.

I am feeling better but decided to go to the doctor just to make sure it wasn't anything serious.  I hate hearing the rumbling in my chest.  He listened and said it was just a touch of bronchitis but mostly this bug that is going around.  He said it was the worst he has seen in ten years!  He felt like I was on the road to recovery and didn't need an antibiotic unless I get to feeling worse in the few days.  Today was the first day that I didn't have to pop a couple of Alieve to get through the day.  By evening, I'm starting to fade but not like I was over the weekend.

The Weekly Deals (good until next Tuesday) are below.  My Hostess Code this month is:

TECQMHTT

Built for Free Using: My Stampin Blog

Painted Blooms

I'm writing this on Sunday - before the Super Bowl - so can't comment on the winner.  Just hoping for Seattle to pull out a win!

I have not felt good all weekend.  Hoping it is nothing but maybe a cold.  I started out on Friday just feeling achy with a bit of a cough.  But after taking an Aleve and laying on the couch for a couple of hours, I was ok.  The same thing on Saturday and Sunday.  My cough is in my chest and I can hear some rumblings in my chest but no fever or other symptoms.  I was wondering if I could have pneumonia but Ashley doesn't think so.  I'm going to wait it out.  If I still feel bad on Monday, I'll be calling the doctor to get checked out.  I'm scheduled to get a massage on Monday afternoon - so hopefully, I'll be ok for that!

I  made a bunch of cards this week - in the afternoon when I was feeling better!  I also worked a lot of my New Zealand scrapbook.  I only have one more city to scrap and after that, it will be just going back and adding embellishments here and there.  I think I'm up to about 38 pages though!!

This card was super easy to make!  I just cut a piece of the Painted Blooms Designer Paper and adhered it to the Blackberry Bliss card.  I just love this DSP and it's hard for me to cut into a piece!!  The sentiment is from a stamp set from Sale-a-Bration - Simply Wonderful.

Here are some other ideas using the Painted Blooms DSP:

 This next card uses the stamp set that coordinates with the DSP, Painted Petals (pg 19 Occasions).  The DSP in this card is from Sale-a-Bration - Irrestibly Yours.  I sponged it with Sahara Sand ink.  I used Rose Red for the card and flowers.  Again, the sentiment is from Simply Wonderful (pg 16, SAB).

Bokeh Technique

When I was in Spartanburg a couple of weeks ago, I made this card using the Bokeh Technique.  I watched a video on line so I would know what to do.  There are several You Tube videos - just search for You Tube Bokeh Technique and you'll find several.  They are all a little different so you just can figure out which one you like the best. Splitcoast Stampers also has a tutorial.

Bokeh is a technique that's been around in photography circles for years and is starting to pop up in card making I've noticed.  By definition, bokeh is the blur, or the aesthetic quality of the blur, in out-of-focus areas of an image.  Not so sure that's what it is for card making but ....

Here's a sample of the bokeh technique in photography:

The way I did my card is:

• Use Painters Tape all along the edges of a piece of watercolor paper and taped it down to my work space.
• Use the Aqua Brush and brush water all over the watercolor paper.  Make sure it is completely wet - but not sopping.
• Pick up ink from the lid of the ink pad (or use reinkers) and lay down colors randomly.  (I used Coastal Cabana, Soft Sky and StrawberrySlush)
• Once you get the colors the way you want them, let it dry (or use the heat gun to speed it along)
• Carefully remove the painters tape.
• I punched 3 different size templates from Window Sheets (transparency) with circle punches (1", 3/4" and 1/2"). 
• Use daubers to "pounce" Whisper White ink in the circles or rub the ink in the circle templates onto the watercolor paper.  Move your template and keep adding circles of Whisper White ink.
• You can also use a pencil eraser for tiny circles.  I found I had to go over the circles I did with the template again once they dried.
• Let it dry (or zap it with the heat gun) and stamp your image.

For my card, I used the Butterfly Basics stamp set from the Occasions Catalog.  I punched the butterfly from the Irresistibly Yours DSP in Sale-a-Bration and sponged it with different colors.

MDS Monday Challenge

I have enjoyed not having to go anywhere for the past couple of days.  Tuesday I didn't even get dressed except to put on some soft warm lounging pj's.  I spent the day making a few cards and working on my New Zealand scrapbook on MDS.  Same thing for Wednesday except I did get dressed in sweats!  Don't you love days like that???  I remember when I quit working.  At the time, I was not involved in playing bridge, doing cards, etc.  I really don't know what I did during the day after quitting work - I think play computer games and read - but I do remember that I wore sweat pants and sweat shirts almost every day. Sonny called them my uniform.  I was sorta depressed at the time and missing my job but also enjoying the freedom of being able to do anything I wanted during the day.  That probably lasted about 3-4 months before I got a part time job and joined a few groups to do crafts, play bridge, go to coffee's, etc.  Now I wonder how I ever had time to work!!

Here is my take on the sketch for MDS Monday.

This week I dug into my pictures from our trip(s) to Hawaii several years ago.  I love the bright colors in this layout.  I used the kit Paradise Found.  Instead of the flag banner that is in the sketch, I decided to create my own lei across the page.  I used an alphabet punch for "Hawaii" and paper filled it with the same paper that I used for the background - just using different shades of the orange and yellow at the top of the page.

I hope you will take the time to check out the pages the MDS Monday Design Team made.

Here is the sketch that Cindy challenged us with:




And here is what is included in the Paradise Found kit:

You Brighten My Day for Paper Craft Crew Challenge

Since it's Wednesday, I'm over on the Paper Craft Crew Blog for their weekly challenge.

Can you believe I actually made a real card for the challenge this week???  I didn't use My Digital Studio - shocker!!

The card base is Coastal Cabana (what am I going to do when that color retires??)  I paper pierced little holes all around the Whisper White card stock.  On a scrap of white, I stamped several hearts from the You Brighten My Day stamp set (Sale-a-Bration set) in Coastal Cabana and Real Red and punched them out.  I used the Circles Framelits to cut the red and white circles.  I tied the Coastal Cabana twine and a bit of the Gold Bakers Twine around the card.  I used the Little Letters Framelits to cut "YOU" out of Real Red Glitter paper and popped them up with dimensionals.  The finishing touch is the gold and pink sequins on the card.

Here is the sketch for the week:

I hope that you enjoyed my Design Team card for this week's Paper Craft Crew sketch challenge. Take a minute to go over to the blog and check out the other designers projects and enter yours in the gallery.  Thanks so much for stopping by for a visit today!  Enjoy your Wednesday!!   I hope to be talking to Ashley later in the day to find out how her vacation on her Rock Boat Cruise went.  They left on Saturday and arrive back in Ft. Lauderdale later today.  I know she had a blast!