I Love Topiaries

And here in Florida people have them in their gardens...but not me. My husband doesn't like them. So, I have to settle for a plastic one in my kitchen. Oh well. At least he likes flowers!

Here is a pretty little topiary image from Designed 2 Delight. I just noticed that it looks like a 

Romeo and Juliet moment! How adorable...

I used a sketch from Catch The Bug Challenge:

The colors are from Make My Monday, 

as well as a CASE color challenge at Designed to Delight.  The card I cased is by Katie Tate:

I love black on my cards...and in my house...and on me! I used some stash paper by CTMH, and also used their cloud stencil. the lace is made with a Martha Stewart punch. 

I colored the image with Prismacolor Pencils and the sky is chalked. I used some Stickles on the topiary and birds. The gems are from The Paper Studio.

The ribbon is from Offray. Years ago I went to their outlet store in PA. I love making these little bows. I use the Martha Stewart method...make two loops and tie them. Easy Peasy!

The buttons are from my stash. I have had them FOREVER.  They seemed perfect for this card, but needed some shadow, so I punched a couple of black circles...

I am entering this card in some challenges...

Designed 2 Delight - CASE a card color pallet from the DT

Catch The Bug - Sketch

Make My Monday - Colour Wheel Challenge

One Stitch at a Time - Use a digital image

The Crafty Pad - Things with Wings

Crafty Mess - Birds

Secret Crafter - Bright and Cheerful

Paper Pretties - Thank-you Cards

The Paper Shelter - Glitz and Glimmer

Scrapbook Sisters - Things with Wings

The Ribbon Reel - Button It

Thanks for stopping by...come back often!

~Bev

Thankfully Simple

Here is my second card for my application to the Design Team at My Time Made Easy. Go here to see my other entry.

I love MTME's images! And I love challenging myself to make the DT. It's so much fun to work toward a goal. My goal is to make it onto this team!

 This image is from their set called, Thankful. I had so much fun with it. For this card, I used Pretty Palette 67 and Pretty Patterns Sketch 67.

                             


I decided use a paper piecing technique. I printed the image on two different B&T papers from my "vintage" CTMH stash. I simply attached two pieces of the B&T to a sheet of computer paper, where the images would print. This is easy to do with removable adhesive. This way, you save your decorator paper. I also used a piece of CTMH paper for the decorative strip. I sewed it with my Singer. The striped cs is from Tres Jolie. The brads are from Michael's.

First I used my cloud stencil from CTMH to chalk a sky. I then colored the pumpkin with a Prismacolor marker in Spanish Orange. Next, I attached the pumpkin strips, using dimensional adhesive for the swirl pieces. Wire was curled around a paintbrush handle, and added through a small hole in the top of the pumpkin. I taped it in place on the back. The stem is colored with marker.

  

I love this technique for sentiments. I found it on Michelle Pearson's blog. She does it well. Great idea when using digital images. 

The layout is from My Time Made Easy. So is the color palette. 

This is the inside of the card. The stripes will help with the message writing.

I am also entering this card in some challenges:

My Time Made Easy - Pretty Palettes (colors)

My Time Made Easy - Pretty Patterns Sketch

One Stitch At A Time - Anything Goes

Secret Crafter - Bright and Cheerful

Aud Sentiments - Tag It!

Digi Doodle Shop - Let's Get Stripey!

DL Art - Anything Thankful

My Heart Pieces - Use a square or circle

C.R.A.F.T. Challenge - Use Stitching

Do You Stack Up - For a Friend

Crafts and Me - Anything Goes

 

I hope you like what you see, and I REALLY hope the ladies at My Time Made Easy like what THEY see!

Wish me luck....

~Bev

Designing to Delight

Yippee! I made it...I am a member of the awesome Digital Delights Design Team!

Wendy is the BEST. So patient...and kind...and helpful...and TALENTED!

Check out the Store, the Blog, and visit the other members of the design team...leave them some love!

Stop by often and catch the Digital Delights Bug...we have tutorials to help you create your own paper crafts as well as a gallery to inspire you and lots of digi images, paper and more to save you money...buying stamps and paper pads is fun, and I have my fair share of both, but you can really save money by downloading images and paper and printing only what you need.

Thanks for stopping, and visit often! Don't forget to join Digital Delights' Blog and mine...that way you won't miss a thing!

~Bev

Sew Serene

I love this image from, Digital 2 For Tuesday. Looks like such a quiet place to sew.  Huh...whenever I sew my cat has to come around and bug me...he's so curious!

Sewing done on my Singer...and the ribbon is from my ribbon stash. The paper is from Tres Jolie. The corner piece is the back side of the orange patterned paper. I used coredinations to mat the picture and the patterned paper. I distressed with my scissors blade and some sandpaper. I also used Vintage Photo distress inkpad by Ranger with a sponge on lots of the edges. One other thing I distressed with sandpaper was the little white brads. 

I used my Prismacolor Pencils and some Mineral Spirits to color the image. I added a bit of Distress Stickles also.I purposely bent the corner to add to the aging process.  Huh...I don't want to add anymore wrinkles to my aging process!

The mineral spirits really help blend the pencil...

I used Tim Holtz' Tattered Florals die and my Vagabond to make the flowers. I used some two-sided paper. Pearls are from Hobby Lobby. I used some petals from one of the Florals to make the leaves.

I am entering this card, along with one more that I will make next,  to apply for the DT at 

My Time Made Easy. (I used PP60 and PPS 66).

I am also entering it in some challenges:

Aud Sentiments - Sentiment on a Tag

C.R.A.F.T. Challenge - Stitching

Cute Card Thursday - Distressing

Do You Stack Up? - For a friend

Digi Doodle Shop's Best - Stripes

It's All About the Vintage - Anything Vintage Goes

Crafts and Me - Anything Goes

Simon Says Stamp - Anything Goes

Thanks for stopping by...please add your name to my followers so you can keep up with what I am doing...

~Bev

Lily Will Soon Be Two...

So I am going to give her this card.  She wears her hair in pigtails, and my daughter always dresses her so cutely. I think this little girl will do.

This image is called, Briley. She is one of the many friends you will meet at Digital Delights.  The sentiment is also my DD's. I used my Prismacolor pencils and markers to give Briley "life", and chalked the background and sentiment. There is a bit of Gelly Roll Pen in her hair (kids are always getting stuff stuck in their hair, aren't they?).

I sanded the blue cs, which is called, Outdoor Demim, by CTMH to make it look more like denim. The large  eyelets were used to add to the jean theme. These "jeans" are patched with more "vintage" CTMH paper, and stitched in place with my Singer. The lacy band is made with a Martha Stewart punch.

I went yard sale-ing with my husband this morning. I found an App for the trip. It made it so much easier! Wow...

Anyway, I found a leaf punch for 25 cents! Here it is, with a folded and sanded vein, I love them!

  I used some red twine that I found at the bottom of my ribbon box. I have a  ton of it, and didn't even know it...I'll bet we all find stuff that way...right?

Here you can really see the denim sanding, and the fine black frame I put around the circle background.

I also distressed all the edges of every piece of paper with my scissors blade.

There are two brads on either side of the sentiment. I heat embossed these with red embossing powder. I love doing that! You can even use two colors and make the brads so unusual...try it!

I am entering this card in several challenges:
Sketches By Carly - Sketch
Rubber Redneck - Color Round-up
Color Me Creative - Girly Twist
Hiding in My Craft Room - Layers
Totally Gorjuss - Leaf it In
ATC's and Card With Attitude - Anything Goes
Card Crafter's Circle - Children
Emergency Crafters - Circles
The Poodle's Parlour - Use a digital image
My Heart Pieces - Use a Circle or Square

Pass the Cheese, Please

I was looking for a sketch to use, when I came across this one, newly posted by Cardabilities:

It's a stretch, but I have seen lots and lots of "stretchier" samples in the past.

I used Crafty Secrets stamps again. I took the lace border from Kitchen Kids, and clipped it a bit, so it would bend. I used it to make the edge of the plate, which is paper pieced. The rooster paper is from Micheal's and the black cs is Core'dinations colorcore cs. The green is NE Ivy by CTMH...from my stash.

the spaghetti is "vintage" waxy flax by CTMH, and the silverware is heat embossed in black, on copper metallic cs , which I picked up a few years ago...not sure where I got it!

The napkin is made of CTMH gingham in NE Iny, I distressed everything with Distress Ink in Walnut Ink, by Ranger.  The gold eyelets are SU!. 

I am entering this card in several challenges:

Digi Doodle Shop - Anything goes

DL Art - Anything thankful

Do You Stack Up? - Food

My Heart Pieces - Use a circle of square

Cardabilities - Sketch

Creative Card Crew - Black card stock

Perfect Sentiments - Anything goes, sentiment on front

How Did She Get Up There?

My granddaughter is such a tomboy. She will love this "plaque" that I made for her room. It was going to be a card, but then I realized I can't make a card, because of the challenge A Day For Daisies is sponsoring, so I added some nice big flowers. I will put it in a shadow box. I am just not sure I want Molly climbing trees in her bare feet...but then I played with Barbies until I was thirteen! No tree climbing for me...unless it was to build a tree house for my dolls...

The image is from A Day For Daisies. I love their images...so sweet. This image was provided free of charge. That's what they do for their challenges...isn't that neat?

This little pixie is gathering blossoms. I used my Letraset Aqua Markers and Prisma pencils. I also added some glitter to dress up the image. The background is done with my CTMH cloud stencil. The paper is also CTMH...very "vintage", as I have had it since the turn of the century!

The flowers were done with my Vagabond and Tattered Florals Die designed by Tim Holtz. I sanded the cs, and curled the edges of the flowers with my old wooden dry embossing stylus. The gems in the center are from Michael's. I used some organdy ribbon that I bought long ago at the Offray ribbon outlet in PA. I also sewed the purple and red with white thread on my machine.

The sentiment is from Crafty Secrets' Garden Girls Set, and the other stamped images are from Crafty Secrets' Hardware set. I think the sentiment is perfect for this card!

I am entering this card in the following challenges:

A Day For Daisies - Anything but a card
The Craft Garden - Inspiration Photo
Sketch 'N Stash - Layout
Cupcake Craftroom - Lots of Layers
Lia Stampz - Anything Goes
Mema's Crafts - Anything Goes
Simon Says Stamp and Show - Anything Goes
Crafts and Me Challenges - Ribbon and a Bow
Digi Stamps 4 Joy - Weather
Fab 'N Funky Challenges - Make Your Own Flowers
I Love Promarkers - Sparkle
The Paper Shelter - Anything Goes

Please leave me a comment at the end of this entry...I'd love to know what you think!

~Bev