Summer by the inches!

Yes, and Summer is slipping away from us by the inches too!! Can you believe my kids have already started "back to school" stuff?! I'm not ready for the school shopping yet!! YIKES! How about you? Are you enjoying the rest of your Summer? I hope so!

Today's card comes from the DRS Designs Blog Challenges to create inchies!! They are so fun and simple to make! There are so many ways to create with these! What's REALLY fun is to make a bunch at once and trade them. Then you have all these inchies to create something fun with! If you have some DRS Design images that you'd like to use, then I hope you will come play with us and check out the challenges going on every other week on there!! There are other fun creations using inchies from the other fabulous DRS Design team members, so come take a look and play along!

All images are all DRS Design images.

For my card, I used the citrus slice and stamped it all over a white piece of cardstock in Yo-yo Yellow and Barely Banana colors and cut out four 1" squares with it. I used my 1 1/4" punch to layer black cardstock behind them. I also used the same image and yellow ink colors to randomly stamp the white background piece. The entire card measures as a 4 1/2" square. I used black and yellow for layers. I also used the citrus slice image and stamped it with Yo-yo Yellow CRAFT ink on white cardstock and embossed it with Iridescent Ice EP to make it look sparkly. I also took some yellow chalk to give a little color on the inside. Then I cut it in half.

For the large Summer drink image, I stamped it with Staz On black ink and used watercolor crayons to color everything in. I used a gem stone on top of the umbrella and then I used some glitter & glue pen to cover the whole lemon flavored drink for a sprakly look.

I first added all the layers, wrapped black dotted ribbon around the white and yellow layers and then attached it to the front of the black folded 4 1/2" card. I then added the layered inchies over top, the sliced lemon and the drink were popped up with pop dots! The sentiment was stamped from a partial Broken Mower Greeting with black marker!

Hope you've enjoyed the creation for today and I hope you check out the challenge blog to play along with us!! If you don't have a blog, you can certainly still play along with us anyway!! You can upload it to your SCS gallery with the keywords: DRSC1, this way we can all come and check your creation and leave you a comment!!

Don't forget to sign up for my blog candy!! Thanks for stopping by friends!!

Penguin Paradise with In Color summer wishes...

Oh how I love this stamp set!! If you've been familiar with Stampin' Up! for a while, then you probably remember this Penguin Paradise stamp set!! It's an oldie, but a goodie!! I happen to love penguins and of course I don't think I could "live" without these cute Stampin' Up! ones!!

I took the stamp set and used the up-coming NEW In-Colors coming out this Fall from Stampin' Up! I used the beautiful blue Pacific Point and Riding Hood Red colors for this. I just thought they were perfect colors for this theme! I also used my cuttlebug folder and swiped white ink to pop out the embossed design and added a sentiment from a current Stampin' Up! set called Everyday Flexible Phrases...it has so many unique words in it, I love it! I topped the image off with stickles and tied some shimmery clear ribbon around it. I also used a couple of gems in the upper corner of the image. This was so fun!

This is also a special card made for a very special girl as well. I was talking on the phone to a VERY dear friend of mine (almost like my sister!) and learned that her little baby girl is having some medical issues. I just thought sending this card might put a smile on the girl's face and let her family know that I am praying hard and thinking of them all.

If you're reading my blog, friend, please know that I am here for you always!

More Sneak Peek images!!

Meow! Meow! This is one fancy kitty cat!! It's one of the up-coming new releases from DRS Designs! (Remember, these will come out on Monday~so be sure to check them out!)

I thought that this pretty kitty needed to be colored with pinks and purples!! Yep, she sure looks like it too!! The background was made with my cuttlebug machine and embossing folder. I just took the white ink pad to rub over the embossing to make it stand out a little better. Of course she has green eyes and purple eye shadow! I put some stickles over her collar gem stones and on her eyes. I also thought it would match the pattern and theme to put the square jewels at a diagnol position in the corner. And then I just finished it off with shimmery ribbon! I hope you like Ms. Kitty image!! :)

"My future's so bright...I gotta wear shades!!" And..."It's hip to be square!!" This card reminds me so much of the 1980s!! And yes, I'm one of those 80s ladies!! Both the sunglasses and square background images are also part of the sneak peek from DRS! I just think that the 80s music I've been listening to this weekend has rubbed off on my or something!!? Sorry for my lame humor! lol!

It's hard to tell in the picture, but what I did was emboss the sunglasses with black embossing powder and used some blue watercolor crayons for some shading around them. I then used two different shades of shimmerz and brushed on the lens part of them. It looks VERY shimmery up close and personal! I thought that the square background stamps would be awesome stamped in different colors like that! They have SEVERAL new background images they will be coming out with besides this square one! I hope to playing with more shortly! They are great for miscellaneous images that you don't know what to do with!! :)

FORE!!!! Check out this Sneak preview of the golf cart image!! My kids love to play golf and they usually get in on that every summer, but they've just been so busy lately with other things. I think this card would be great for a guy OR girl golfer!! DRS has this amazing Open Plaid image! That's how I created the background on this card. It was simple to put together, just added the sentiment, brads in the corner, popped up the cart image and wrapped some ribbon around the bottom of card.

Hope you've enjoyed the little sneak peek party I've give you!! I will be stamping some more with these images so be watching this blog for your favorite ones when you see them on the DRS website!! Thanks for putting up with my "teasing"!!

More sneak peeks coming your way....

Summertime Sneak Peek!

OK...I suppose the "teasing" time is over and you really want to see the new images! So what do you think of when you think of summer? Today we had some rain followed by some sun which made it VERY hot and humid today....so I was thinking along the lines of a lazy day summer theme. DRS Designs is going to be releasing some brand new summer images this Monday! So go check them out as soon as you can!! Here are a few cards that I've made with these up-coming new releases...ENJOY!





The fence, lawn mower and greeting (love it!) are all new images! All I did was start off by stamping my sentiment first and then I took the fence image and stamped just above the greeting. The lawn mower was stamped, colored and cut out. I placed it over top of the card with pop dots. Before I placed the lawn mower on the card, I used some chalks to make the grass and sky colors.





I think my hubby could probably appreciate the idea behind this card!! hehehe!!














And of course, if you're not mowing the lawn, then it's time to sit back and have yourself a fruity umbrella drink!! The sliced fruit is the new image on this card! I LOVED using it as a background! The drink is colored in and I also brushed some shimmerz over the fruity drink inside the glass. The two cut out sliced fruits were stamped with Apricot Appeal craft ink and then embossed with Iridescent Ice EP to make it sparkle. I then took some chalk and rubbed in the middle of the fruit slices. One of them I popped up. AHHH!! Can you just hear me sitting back and relaxing now!! :) Teehee!

And of course if you're like my family, then summer time is a great time for grilling!! And we ALL know a "master of the grill", right?! Mine happens to be a pretty full ego-male family...so as you can imagine, they're ALL masters!! teehee! The sentiment is the new image on this card! The blue panel was softened up a bit with white ink and then I stamped the sentiment in the corner so I'd have room for the grill. I stamped and embossed the grill with black and then colored it in with watercolor crayons and cut it out. I then popped the image up with pop dots. The "smoke" was made with some chalk. I also added a little flourish design under the sentiment. I think this would make an awesome B-Day card for pretty much anyone in my family!

I hope you enjoyed your little summer sneak peek!!! And I will still have more to show you tomorrow!!! So stay tuned in as I'm in the mood for some awesome 80's flashback music and stamping tonight!! WOOHOO!!! Hope you all have an excellent weekend!! Thanks so much for stopping by today!! *HUGS & SMILES!*

Fruity popsicle

Hey all!! I've been wanting to make one of these cards for a while now! Love the Bold Bright summery colors too! I'm using ALL retired stamp sets for this card: Big Pieces (for BG), Circle of Friendship & It's Your Birthday (inside of card). Have you purchased the retiring sets that you want, yet?! Be sure to check out your catalog with the retired list!

I actually made this card for the N.M.B.S. Group Blog! It was my turn to host a challenge. So if you'd like to see details on this card and try out the challenge yourself, go on over & check out the details!! Thanks for stopping by today and enjoy your weekend!! *HUGS & SMILES!*

Long Pink Flamingos!

Oh my!! What I wouldn't give to be at this scene right about now!! Along with a nice drink as well!! lol! Do you ever have one of those days...well week for me that no matter how many plans you have to get things done, they don't!?! It's been THAT week! Sheesh! Hopefully, I'll have a better productive day tomorrow and I can carry out with my weekend as planned! :)

OK...enough whinning, but thanks for listening anyway!

This card was used with some awesome DRS Designs images! Of course you can't see as well in the picture that the water has some stickles on it to make it sparkle! And another reason why I love those watercolor crayons so much is the blending of colors! Look at that sky! I combined some earthy tones to make it look like the sun setting. The image was so long and I wanted the WHOLE image on the card, so I used one of my long notes and even stamped it on the envelope! I still had some bright pink organdy ribbon to help tie the card together. I have lots more to show you what I've been doing with these awesome images I received from DRS, but I've got to get off for now and spend time with my family! Hope you are all having a great week! Thanks for stopping by!! *HUGS & SMILES!*

Watercolor Dreams

Wouldn't you just LOVE to be looking at this view from your window about now? It's dark & dreary over my way today. I knew I wanted to work with some new rubbah Samantha from DRS Designs sent me and this one just caught my eye. I think the saying goes so well with it! DRS has the best sentiments I've ever seen! You should check them out! I colored in this image with watercolor crayons, stamped a swirly flourish image in the BG of the Brocade Blue (Stampin' Up!) card and then stamped the sentiment in white craft ink. I had some of these blue baubles to add to the edge of the panel and I put some stickles on the sun to make it sparkle nicely!

And I didn't even create this one for a challenge...it just fell together this way! Thanks for stopping by today!! :)

Wet-n-Wild Watercoloring tutorial!

Are you not sure if you want those darn watercolor crayons or you have them, but just haven't used them on a count of it being a little bit intimidating? I'm here to help! I have heard different people say various comments about the watercolors crayons. Let me assure you that they are nothing to be afraid of with a little practice and a few tips to help you along! There are also SEVERAL version of how people use them and what they use with the crayons for application. My ultimate favorite way is what I'm going to show you today. I actually *feel* like an artist without actually being one! tee hee! Here are the items you'll need to get you started:

*Watercolor Crayons of course! My big long tin is the older Stampin' Up! version of them with all four of the color families together. Now you can buy a color family of your choice which I think is nice!

*Open image stamp

*Staz On ink (or other permanent ink)

*Cardstock (I recommend the watercolor paper for this technique, but regular cardstock will work just as well, but may crumple your paper a bit while you're watercoloring.) The application of color is a bit different with this as well.

*Aquapainter (There are other media types you can use for these as well such as a paint brush, blender pen or the direct to stamp or paper method, but this is my favorite method.)

*papertowel is needed to wipe of aquapainter or for spills. :)

Step 1:
Obviously, the first step in this process is to ink up the open image stamp with Staz On ink and stamp image on the watercolor paper. Be sure that the image has dried completely before you begin to watercolor.

Step 2:

Before you begin adding color to your aquapainter, you will need to squeeze some water out of it first to get the tip of it moist. This will help with applying the color to it.

Some people are more comfortable picking up the crayon to apply the color rather than in a downward motion because the tip flows out water & it's easier to see the application of color up close. I encourage you to experiment both ways to see what works best for you. I tend to do a little of both.

(Also, after playing around with the crayons & aquapainter a bit, you'll start to realize how much color to add or not add to your brush tip. I always start out with the darkest shady areas first, so I tend to load my brush up pretty heavily on the first application of color.

Another thing I also enjoy with using the watercolor crayons is that you can mix up colors! They blend very nicely together. (If you look at the bottom finished piece, you can see that the starfish is a slightly different color. I picked up first some More Mustard on the brush pretty heavily and then added some touches of Close to Cocoa to it! *Be sure to use lighter colors first and then dip into the darker ones sparingly or the darker color will over-take what you're trying to achieve.)

Step 3:

As you can see here on the right, my brush has been loaded pretty heavily with some More Mustard color. I also start along the edges when I color as this is the spot that is the darkest and then I work my way by blending the color & water towards the middle of the image. If you find that you've added too much color to it, squeeze some water out to get rid of the color and go back over the middle of the image and use the watered brush to take some of the color out. (You can also use this method to clean up oops areas!)

You can also see in the picture the way I tend to hold my aquapainter. To avoid accidentally squeezing the aquapainter in the middle, I hold my fingers down at the very end of the brush and at a slight angle so that I have more control of where the color is going and how much water is coming out of the tip.

Step 4:
Continue the same pattern as mentioned above on all areas. I tend to work starting with the lighter colors first and work my way to the darkest tones. I don't think that matters as much as how you are comfortable working with the watercoloring. Again, I started with my dark edges first and worked the water & color towards the middle with me being in control of the water flow and angle. If you find that you want your edges to be a little darker and your color is too light, then take your aquapainter back to the crayon to pick up more color. Keep using this same pattern until you achieve the desired amount of color. You may even have to let the area dry for a bit before trying to add more color to it. (And again, if you've added too much color, squeeze water out of brush and use the watery tip to remove excess.)

Step 5:
For me, this is actually the really fun part! As you can see, I'm working on a soft sky background, so I don't want the color to be very dark. Because of this, I don't load my brush up as much with color. I've used some Bashful Blue and picked up just enough color but I'm adding more water than I did with the other areas. And again, you can see here that I'm actually holding my aquapainter with my fingers positioned high as to get more flow going & I'm pushing down more on my brush to distribute and dilute the color how I want it. Again, the area closer to the image you will want a little darker and the outer edges will be more diluted.

Step 6:

Something that I do that you may NOT know is what I do when I'm done watercoloring. I don't always do this, but sometimes when I use lighter colors, I like the darker areas to stand out better. So I use the same color of marker on the brush end to add a few shading lines! I only did it here on the boy's hair just to show you the dramatic difference it can make. I've also used the white gel pen to add a few highlights here and there. (Not done on this creation.)

Then of course comes the finishing of your watercolor creation! It's always fun to add sparkle or bling to it. I've used just a tiny bit of sparkle on the star fish that he's picking up. It's hard to see it in this picture though. A nice little sentiment at the bottom and you've got a great card for just about anything!

(I typed more than I usually do for this tutorial! WOW! I had so much to say!) I hope that this will make a difference in how you view your watercolor crayons or push you to not be on the fence any longer.

I had forgotten that this set (Summer by the Sea) is not retired. I'm glad because I love it! It is actually on the dormant list. You can view the entire list under the Stampin' Up! links on the left side of this blog. Please feel free to contact me if you have any questions about watercolor crayons. Thanks so much for stopping by today!! Can you believe we are in full swing Summer already?! *HUGS & SMILES!*

Oh my stars!

I was in the mood for some red, white and blue! My colors here are for this week's Color Challenge on SCS. I also combined it with today's Sketch Challenge. I thought it was a very striking sketch with lots of possibilities. I had this Shooting Star Heart image by DRS that I've had since Valentine's Day. It looks like a nice July 4th heart to me! So I was happy to get this one out and use it! I also used the same image for the BG which is really cool because I think it makes it look like lots of shooting stars everywhere! I just markered up the image and added some glitter to spots. I used the coluzzle to cut out the circles and sponged the edge with some soft sky ink. I've got strips of blue bayou up and down along with a smaller strip of the soft sky color. I then used some of my striped real red ribbon to finish off the patriotic look. The sentiment is taken from an older partial DRS image.

Thanks for stopping by today! I will be bringing you a tutorial of MY version of using the watercolor crayons. So be sure to come back by tomorrow! Hope you all have a wonderful day!! *HUGS & SMILES!*

Watch out!! It's frog boy!!

Sorry! Did I scare you?! I just wanted to show you one more project I did today using some of the new batch of rubbah images I received from DRS Designs! Isn't he just the CUTEST thang!! The sentiment just cracks me up too!! This was one I just HAD to drag out first to use!! I thought it would be fun to make him a spit-fire red headed boy! The toes are just too cute! I stamped the froggie image, cut him out and popped him up on the side of the boy and added some stickles to him. The poor froggies that the boy looks like he's choking are covered with crystal effects to make them "slimy" looking! And if you can't quite read what the sentiment says:

" May the light always find you on a dreary day. When you need to be home, may you find your way. May you always have courage to take a chance. And never find frogs in your underpants."

~ A middle-aged Scandinavian

BWHAA BWHAAA!!! Too funny!! I think I know someone that would really get a kick outta this card....hmm...if she's not seeing this, it'll be neat!! Hope you've enjoyed today's smiles!! See ya all very soon!! And check your pants!! hehe!

I got some goodies!!

Look what I got! Look what I got!! Do you remember when I posted a few projects that I did for VSN on SCS?! I showed you the HANDBAG that I made and had won the spotlight to be in the honor's gallery! The gal who was the hostess for the challenge sent me this AWESOME fashionistabella card that is colored in beautifully and all these awesome goodies! I thought...WOW! That was so nice! I got a pad of sugared Basic Grey DP, a pkg of matching glazed brads and some jumbo clips! It was so neat to recieve a nice package in the mail like this! I was happy to get done with the work I needed to get done today and this card inspired me to pull out my bellas again! So......

I used my beachabella and coluzzled a circle around her to fit the SCS Bella Sketch from Monday and I also combined this with the Bella Color Challenge for today. I knew I wanted to do something fun for myself and this was one of them! hehhe! I used the Real Red striped ribbon and two smaller strips of Real Red behind the circle. I also used a flower from the pretties kit and colored it Almost Ameythst with the ink pad and aquapainter. The small flower and "Fun" sentiment came from the level one hostess set Make It Count. The only colors that deviated from the color challenge are the hair and skin on Bella, but that's it. I also used stickles to make it look like she's walking near the water and added a little sparkle to her bakini. Oh...I am so ready for summer, aren't you?! My skin would probably be whiter than hers AND I sure in the heck don't ever see myself wearing a bakini any more...but Bella sure look cute!!

Hope you have a great stamping day!! *Be sure to check for up coming blog candy soon!!*

~Hugs & Smiles~