papermonkey.org {make time for playtime}

Easter Blessings

The March Blog Hop is on! Sweet 'n Sassy Stamps new releases are just hours away. The Design Team has a few sneak peeks to show you what to look forward to. Mine is the elegant set Easter Lily, which is actually very versatile - wait until you see the beautiful sentiments!

I wanted to keep my card very simple and elegant- I simply embossed the lily with silver EP, cut it out, shaped it and put it on pop dots. I shaded it with Copic markers in blue, and colored only the leaves.

Want to hop aboard the blog hop train? The next stop is Korin's blog.  Join us tonight at 9pm EST in the SnS forum for the official release party with challenges, more sneak peeks, and lots of surpises!

See you tonight and thank you so much for stopping by!
Suzy

Watercolor Blooms

 

This post will be super brief. I have not been posting because we had a health scare with Allan. He is in the hospital right now but much improved.  He is in great spirits and cracking jokes - he will be home soon! He is my priority right now, so posting will be sporadic.  I did want to share the card I promised to share last week. This card is one of the cards for the Stampin' Up! Watercolor Class I will be teaching next Wednesday. 

Thank you for stopping by,

Suzy

A Belly Full of Berries

Hello friends,
It is so great to be back stamping - I really missed coloring the most, so today's project, based upon this week's challenge sketch at the House Mouse Challenge Blog, was a real pleasure. Be sure to play along this week as there is a lovely House Mouse stamp up for grabs for one lucky player.

I decided to add a sky and ground faux airbrush style to the image, House Mouse Sleeping With Strawberries. I mimicked the shape of the circle and colored in a large arc, concentrating darker Copic colors/more pressure out toward the edges.  While at CHA I was lucky enough to get Copic Certified with Marianne Walker - I hope to show off some tricks I learned in the near future. Heck if any of her talent rubbed off on me I will be happy!

I colored the seeds with yellow Spica Glitter Pen, making sure to pool up the color so they really pop in person. The background papers are Basic Gray's Bittersweet. KaiserCraft Pearls in the corner and in the center of the Stampin' Up! Pretty in Pink taffeta bow add little feminine touches.

With House Mouse stamps once again becoming popular, people are asking me where to find the little critters. You can buy them BELOW retail cost at TheRubberCafe. As if that wasn't a good deal already, you also save a ton on shipping - usually it won't cost you more than $5 if you are in the US or Canada.

Sunday I taught a watercolor class for Stampin' Up! demonstrators and got to color all day so life is good! I am still so behind so stay tuned for lots more projects. I do hope to show you one of the cards from the class tomorrow as well.

Thanks for stoppin' by!
 

I'm Back! And I Have a Sneak Peek!

Hello friends,
I'm back! Please forgive my absence, so much is going on. I am in the process of changing over to a new computer with a new operating system and new or upgraded programs. I never knew it would be so hard.

California was amazing. My first CHA was all I thought it would be and more - what a mecca of talent, friendship, and pretty shiny things! Meeting fellow design team members like Cindy Lawrence and the superstars of the crafting world like Diana Crick and Melissa from The Rubber Cafe was very inspiring. Don't even get me started on meeting my nephews and seeing my mom and dad after too many long years apart. I have so much to show and tell down the road, please bear with me as I overcome personal and technological hurdles.

Today I wanted to share with you a card I created for the Sweet 'n Sassy Design Team Round Up that is posted on the Sweet 'n Sassy Blog on the 15th of every month. My card uses a sneak peek of His Eye is On the Sparrow, a soon to be released set that is my new favorite. It is the perfect set for creating an inspirational and hopeful card, or, at the other end of the emotional spectrum, a sympathy card that provides love and solace.

For this card I cut ivory cardstock with my Nestabilities die, then stamped the image with Tuxedo Black Momento Ink. I framed the image around the sentiment, which was stamped with Rich Cocoa Memento Ink. Next I colored with Copics then adhered the ivory cardstock to new Chatterbox Filigree paper from the Artylicious collection (I am not sure if it is out yet as I got it at CHA). I propped up the laser cut paper with foam dots onto Pink Paislee Graceful paper (also from CHA, available in March) for depth and dimension. Final touches include Prima flowers with flatback pearls in the center.

Thank you so much for stopping by, it is so good to be back :)

Makin My Way Home...

Just a quick note to let everyone know I am stuck in Toronto. Have been trying to get home since 9pm last night. I board the last plane in 30 minutes - wish me luck! Can't wait to begin crafting again - it was so fantastic to be at CHA and to visit my family - I already miss everyone so much but am really looking forward to home and the craft room - oh and Allan and a couple of little doggies too :)

Suzy