Die-namites April Sketch Challenge

I'm still playing with spring colours, flowers, and birds today!  Welcome everyone!

Here is the darling sketch that's up on Die-namites' blog this month, along with a colour dare:

Bo Bunny's "Madeleine" paper fit the dare perfectly!!

I did a few alterations on one of my Die-namites dies, in order to make my basket full of flowers.  I took "Spring Basket" and removed the eggs.  Then I cut off the handle and bow, and flipped the bow over to the other side of the patterned paper.

For the flowers that fill the basket I used the "Pretty Blooms" die and cut them out in green and one of the coordinating patterned papers.

I didn't like the white lines that were showing up on the paper, so I took a copic marker and coloured the whole thing.  I like the effect I got with some of the pattern still showing through but in a much more subdued way now.

Throw in a few pretty embellishments and a little bit of stenciling... and this card is ready to hit the mail!

I haven't played over at Flying Unicorn, in far too long, so I decided to also enter this card in the "Made with Love - Anything Goes" challenge.

Both of these challenge go until the end of the month - so why not check them out!!

Thanks for stopping by today!

Linda

Christmas Tag #1 at Scrapbooker's Paradise

Hi everyone! 

Today's post is purely for fun!  (But then, aren't they all!)  I played with ink today and ended up with a really pretty tag, thanks to Sandy Holmquist's tutorial here.

Sandy is creating 12 Christmas Tags over the next few weeks which you can try out, and then link YOUR tag up to let everyone see your beautiful creation.  It is SO much fun!

Here is my version of Sandy's 1st tag.  I loved how she popped the white against the green, and her idea of applying crackle accents to the delicate die cut to strengthen it is awesome.  I loved her colour combinations as well.

On my tag you will notice a little bird.  This was added because I am entering this tag in a challenge at Flying Unicorn.  This is a special month at FUL where they are giving back to charity.  They have all sorts of things on the go to help raise money for Best Friends Animal Society.  For every project that is uploaded to the gallery there, a $1 is donated to a maximum of $1,000, and if your project has some kind of animal on it, $2 is donated... thus the bird!  :)  I love animals and am so thankful that there are societies such as this that take such loving care of all the strays and abused animals that end up in their care.  A very worthwhile charity to donate to in my opinion!

 

Here is Sandy's awesome tag that I scrap-lifted.

 

 

Thank you for taking the time to drop by today!

 

Linda

 

 



 

I have a project to share today, but first I would like to express support for my fellow Albertans in the Southwest who are presently dealing with floods of epic proportion.  My thoughts and best wishes are with you at this challenging time. 

“Encourage yourself by encouraging others. It’s tough to encourage others without lifting your own spirits up.”

~Kevin Ngo~

My granddaughter will be having her first Dance Recital soon.  It is traditional to bring flowers for the dancers after the recital is over, so I decided that instead of fresh flowers, I would make a handmade bouquet.

Tammy, at Flying Unicorn, has issued a challenge this month asking us to turn trash into treasure!  I got to thinking that a toilet paper roll would make a good handle for a bouquet, so I made the bouquet with this challenge in mind.  In order for the bouquet to stand on its own, I glued the roll to a chipboard bottom that was covered with embossed paper.

I also covered the roll itself with embossed paper.

I added embellishments by gluing flowers to 1/8" wooden dowels, butterflies to pieces of floral wire, and added bits of ribbon, netting and other bling here and there. 

The focal piece is a beautiful digital image from AuroraWings, a wonderful artist that I stumbled upon on Etsy.

My finished gift for Emily!

Check out the challenges that Flying Unicorn is hosting this month.  There are all sorts to choose from, and they are all a lot of fun.  Give it a try.  You will find a wonderful group of people on the Flying Unicorn forums!

And if you love ballerinas, fairies, kittens, and beautiful girls surrounded by flowers, go to Mitzi's Etsy shop - they are a treat to behold!

Hope this upcoming week floods you with SUNSHINE!!

Linda

Flying Unicorn Card Swap

We're having a card swap over at the Flying Unicorn!  

All you have to do is make 3 cards:  

Birthday, Sympathy and Get Well.  

Sign-ups will close on Apr 5th, so check here for instructions on how to join in the fun.

In March we had an ATC swap that ended up with members receiving some really fabulous ATC's!  I was happy to get my friend Tammy Henderson's name in the draw.  I have been following her from the very first moment I learned there were blogs about scrapbooking on the internet.  (What a happy day that was!!)  I have learned so much from her and received such great inspiration, it was wonderful to be able to send her something in exchange!!  You can check out her blog here.  You're gonna LOVE what you see!

Here are the ATC's I created for the swap.

I used a chippy from G45's Place in Time and framed it with a Pink Paislee Artisan Elements frame that was lightly rubbed with gold Inka Gold.

For this one I used Prima Firefly paper and I made the wings by die cutting them out of scrap plastic and then embossing and gluing to a piece of patterned paper.

Here, I used a La Blanche stamp and played around with little bits and pieces of embellies.

The bunnies on this one were a jpeg file that I had purchased on Etsy and I embellished the frame with Stampendous Aged Ivory embossing enamel and inked the edges with Walnut Distress Ink.

They were all tucked into this little jewelery box that I decorated with some bling.

And sent off with this card to wish Tammy a Happy Spring!

Can't wait to get busy creating my cards for the swap.  

Hope you'll join us!

Linda

Firefly Box Cards

I just had to share with everyone the fun times that are going on over at the Flying Unicorn.  There are so many challenges, there is sure to be one that you will want to give a try! And you might even get lucky and win a prize!  Alda always has gorgeous RAK's for some lucky winner.  :)

The one that I entered today is a card challenge which closes on March 14th.  (Lots of time yet to make a card and get it in!)  Alda, who is hosting the challenge, provides a template, and the challenge is to make a "Box" card using the template.  It's very easy to follow and the little cards are so fun to make.

Our family is usually able to get together at Easter time at my Mom and Dad's house, and we delight in seeing the six little great grandkids hunting for their eggs in the backyard.  I am going to make one of these box cards for each of them.  They will be great treat holders!  Here is my first one.

I used Prima Firefly Aglow paper for this one and the paper is so pretty, I couldn't bear to cover it up with too many embellishments!

 

 

I did spread a little Crackle Accents over the flower though, just to accent it a little more.

 

 

The doily was misted with Fireworks Desert Sand mist.  What a beautiful soft green that is.  Then I inked the edges with a small amount of Fired Brick Distress Ink.

 

 

 

The die cut on the inside is from G45's "Place in Time" paper. 

 

 

I encourage you to check out the Flying Unicorn.  It's a fun site, with wonderful people to chat with on the forums!   There's also lots of tutorials and art to inspire you.

 

Linda