A Legendary Thanks

I've been quite busy writing thank you notes to all of our wedding guests for their generosity and kindness. I would have loved to have made all of the cards myself, but there simply are not enough hours in the day. However, I did have to make one exception, and that is for my dear friends, TJ and Neil. Much to my delight and surprise, they gave us an autographed Keith Byars jersey. Keith was a favorite Ohio State running back from the 1980's that SHOULD HAVE won the Heisman, and WOULD HAVE won the Heisman, had it not been for that infamous desperation pass from Doug Flutie. Anyway, I have always stood up for Keith Byars and even named my former laptop after Keith Byars.

So, imagine my delight when I pulled out the jersey from a gift bag. I squealed! My husband was in disbelief. WE LOVE IT and plan on getting it framed to hang in our Buckeye Basement.

I would take Keith Byars as my running back over any other running back in Ohio State history. That's saying something, isn't it?

I just couldn't do a boxed thank you that would adequately express our thoughtfulness. So, I made this card to personalize the thanks for such a personalized gift. The image is a digital image from Firecracker Designs by Pamela. I printed it onto Georgia Pacific cardstock, and altered the number to #41 by drawing these digits. I colored the image, along with the PSX football with Copic markers. I utilized SCS Sketch Challenge #294 for the layout of the card. Patterned paper and colored cardstock panels were layered, and the sentiment was computer generated. The uniform, helmet and football were raised with Pop-Dots.

Thanks so much, guys!!! Love you!

And thanks to all of you for looking.

Hugs Before School

When I saw this digital image from Michelle Perkett Studio, I just had to have it. It is called "Hugs Before School" and it reminds me of dropping off my dachshund, Sloopy, everyday before I go to teach. Only difference is, I'm a little bigger than this girl and Sloopy is a little smaller than this dog, LOL!

Anyway, I printed the image onto Georgia Pacific cardstock. I colored it with my Copic markers and cut it out with detail scissors. A Nestabilities die was used to cut a panel and I sponged around the panel with SeaShells Seashell Pink dye ink. The sentiment was cut from my Cricut and a ribbon was adhered to the sponged Nestabilities die cut. Patterned paper was also used to create this card.

Thanks so much for looking, and thanks so much for the challenge that inspired this card, Challenge #42, on the Michelle Perkett Studio Challenge blog, which is a back-to-school challenge. Tis the season!

Row, Row, Row Your Dog

I couldn't help but sing "Row, row, row your boat" while I made this card. I then changed my tune to "Row, row, row your dog" as I sang (and laughed). I'm still not sure why my husband doesn't think it is funny. Is my sense of humor that warped?

Anyway, this card was actually inspired by the current Copic Creations Challenge,#33, which is to make a reflection. As you can see, I tried to do just that with the canoe and oar as I colored the water.



And as I was taking the image and using it to create a card, I used the current layout from this week's Sketch for You to Try, SFYTT082110.

Now, onto the typical deets. The adorable canoe image is from Eat Cake Graphics. I stamped it with Marvy dye black ink onto Georgia Pacific cardstock. I colored it with Copic markers. I did a little highlighting in the water with a white gel pen. Nestabilities dies were used to create some of the panels, along with patterned paper and color cardstock. Little dog paw embellishments and a dog bone clip were also used to create this card, and my "goofy" sentiment was computer-generated.

Guess this adds to my stash of "Who Would Ever Send A Card Like This?" stash. Not so practical, but I had fun with it.

Thanks for visiting.

Stuffed Toy Doggie

I went to the Stampaway convention in Cincinnati this past weekend. I found myself browsing in the Sweet Impressions Stamps booth and once I saw this adorable stuffed puppy image I knew it had to come home with me. I couldn't resist its extreme cuteness.

Anyway, I immediately inked it with Marvy dye black ink onto Georgia Pacific cardstock and colored the sweet puppy with Copic markers. I then paired it with a sentiment from Impression Obsession and adhered to some patterned paper panels. I used a Nestabilities die to achieve the scalloped bottom to the card. I finished the card with a sheer ribbon.

Very quick and simple. I like the look of this card, but I haven't a clue about its practicality and question when and why would I ever give someone a card like this. Oh well, LOL!

Thanks so much for visiting my blog.

Summer Play

Just in case you weren't ready to see the Back-to-School card from yesterday, I thought I would immediately return to summer for those offended. :-)

This is actually just an example of me playing around with a different medium. For YEARS, I have had a USArtQuest Watercolor Palette (pastelles), yet have very rarely used it since my discovery of Copic markers and Prismacolor pencils. One of my future goals is to become more comfortable with the watercolor medium, and as you can see, I do have lots of room for improvement.

We were playing around at our local stamp club with paints that sparkle, such as Twinkling H20's, Pearl Ex and USArtQuest Watercolor Palettes. I stamped this beach image from Impression Obsession with Memento black dye ink onto Georgia Pacific cardstock...yes, I know, watercolor paper would have been WAY better. I then proceeded to paint the image with the USArtQuest watercolor palette. I was rather free and carefree and quick with my brushstrokes. This is my result. I'm not exactly proud of it...but I will say I think the pearlescent colors look great for sand and the sun. I will need to remember that. To me, these colors look really "beachy" and sparkle like real sand. That's what I like about it.

I then cut out the image with a Nestabilitie die and adhered to patterned paper and kraft cardstock. I used a ribbon and adhered a tag that reads "summer", which was made from my paper I used to clean my water brush and a Michael's $1 stamp.

Okay, back to Copics and color pencils, and most importantly, SUMMER!

School Days are Coming

Is Back-to-School a holiday worthy of a card? As a teacher who loves her summer, I'm not really celebrating the whole concept. However when I saw this adorable digital image from Michelle Perkett Studio, I couldn't resist whipping up a card with it.

I printed the image called "Mary Margaret" onto Georgia Pacific cardstock. I colored it with Copic markers. The card has several panels made from patterned paper scraps from Christmas and red cardstock, though I don't think the card has a Christmas feel to it, do you? I used a snippet from a Back-to-School ribbon and attached it with a circle clip. Three red brads were used for a little embellishment. The ribbon is acting as the sentiment, which fits the SCS Try a Technique Challenge, TLC286, which is to use ribbon without tying a bow or knot.

Now, back to summer. No need at all to rush things.

Birthday Cake...Mmm, Mmm, Good!

Here's a birthday card for the stash. Can never have enough birthday cards in the stash, can you? Let me tell you how it came to be.

Now that the wedding is over, I'm finding more time to surf the web. Perhaps I've been under a rock or something, but I just discovered another addicting ning site...this one called Crafter's Digital Art Center which features the use of digital stamps. How cool is that? Anyway, I joined the talented Michelle Perkett's group and learned that right now she is having a Design Team call and wants all interested to submit a project using this adorable cake image and sentiment. What an absolute blast and honor that would be to color her intricate images, so I immediately began creating. Here's the result.

I printed the Michelle Perkett cake image onto Georgia Pacific cardstock and colored it with Copic markers. I then proceeded to cut it out. I painted some Diamond Glaze onto the "chocolate frosting" and sprinkled a little Hot Kiss Art Institute glitter to give it some sparkle. I used a Nestabilities die cut and sponged around the die with SeaShells Seashell pink dye ink. I then adhered the cake image onto this die. I printed the sentiment onto ink jet shrink plastic and shrank. Love the texture this gave the card. Various patterned paper panels and curly ribbon were used to complete this card.

Thanks so much for visiting today. Though it is Friday the 13th, I'm hoping I'll have a little luck with this card.

Retirement of a Mentor

I'm back!

Though I haven't quite recovered from the wedding/honeymoon, I found myself in need of a retirement card. And, really, this couldn't come from my stash, as the recipient is a dear friend and mentor. She has taught me so much about the reading process through the years so I wanted to make a personalized card to attempt to celebrate her impact on so many educators.

This card is pretty much a case of this card found on Just For Fun's website. The file folder images and clips are from Just For Fun. I stamped the folders using Marvy Charcoal gray dye onto Georgia Pacific cardstock and sponged with SeaShell Sandal dye and Adirondack Latte dye. I cut these images out and arranged them onto a patterned paper panel. The clips were stamped with Marvy black dye and cut and arranged onto the folders appear as though are holding the following notes: Relax (computer generated), Ohio State logo (cut from a notepad) and an excerpt from an old agenda. With a black pen, I wrote some memorable presentations from my mentor. Black and red panels of cardstock were used to complete this card, along with a ribbon treatment and white gel pen was used for the dots on the red panel.