Dare to Get Dirty Challenge on Splitcoaststampers 2017

Hello, sweet friends! This year I am hosting another one of the Dare to Get Dirty challenges at Splitcoaststampers. 

Splitcoaststampers (SCS) is the world's largest stamping community with more than 400,000 members, many of whom are Fan Club Members. Each year a number of the past and 12 current designers at SCS (known as the "Dirty Dozen") have a week-long challenge fest known as "Dare to Get Dirty (DTGD)." This special week-long event is just for Fan Club Members to say "thank you" for their support. It's an amazing community for inspiration and encouragement, and I have come to know and love so many wonderful friends from all over the world. If you aren't a Fan Club Member yet, click here to learn more about it. There's plenty of time to have fun! And if you need to "give" yourself permission, here's one from the Dirty Dozen.

I can't tell you what my challenge is, but I am sharing my card with you. I know there are some Fan Club Members who follow me, so I would love to see what you do (and you know where to go to see my challenge). And my sample card makers have made some absolutely beautiful cards to inspire!

My card is colored with Copic markers, my go-to color medium. I find coloring so relaxing, but once I am finished the real challenge for me begins...designing the card. So here is my card...but that's all I can share with you...hehe!

I do hope to see a card from some of my sweet friends! You have until Wednesday, August 9, 11:59 p.m. Central Time, to post your cards.

I always prefer to use an encouraging sentiment or Scripture verse. This sentiment is a paraphrase from God's Word in this verse. Oh, what words of encouragement as we go through difficult times. May we always be encouraged and trust God through it all.

Be strong and courageous.
Do not be afraid or terrified because of them,
for the Lord your God goes with you;
He will never leave you nor forsake you.

Deuteronomy 31:6

Thanks so much for "stopping by" and sharing a comment, thought or question, and I hope you have a wonderful week! I look forward to a fun week as we continue this annual Splitcoaststampers Challenge!

Blessings,

Stamps:  Pansies (Power Poppy), Blessed (Simon Says Stamp) 

Paper: X-Press It Blending Card, Winter Wisteria (SU!), Coffee in the Arbour (Maja Design), Solar White 110# (Neenah)

Ink: Onyx Black (Versafine), printer
Tools/Accessories: Copic markers, Double Stitched STAX dies (My Favorite Things), MISTI tool, Mini Perfect Layers tool, Mat Pack (SU!), piercing tool, sequins (Pretty Pink Posh), Diamond Glaze, Multi Mono Liquid Glue (Tombow), white tape, red tape, 3M dimensional tape

Card Size:  5½" square
Copics used:  Flower Petals – BV0000, BV000, BV04, BV11, BV13, B60, B63, V000; Flower Centers – Y11, Y23; Leaves – G40, G43, G82, G99, YG00; Shading – W1, 0

Thinking of You Tulip

Hello, sweet friends! I trust you are having a good week and always remember how blessed we are. No matter what God brings into our lives, He is always with us.

Several weeks ago, a beloved friend breathed his last and is now with the Lord. He was a former pastor and a very dear friend...and a mentor and friend to my husband. His dear wife held a women's Bible study on Thursdays, and we had some precious times together. They were such dear friends, and we used to meet them after church for lunch each Sunday. We had such sweet times of fellowship...times we now cherish in our memories. We are so thankful to God for such a godly couple, and now we pray for his dear wife and know that her ultimate comfort is in knowing that he is no longer suffering and is now in the presence of the Lord.

We went to his memorial service and spent several days on the west coast of Florida, and I was able to relax a bit and try out my colored pencils. I don't have a lot of experience using pencils, so it was a fun time...but I definitely need more practice. I stamped the tulip with Antique Linen Distress Ink on X-Press It Blending Card and used only pencils, but I will definitely use other paper on my next project with pencils. Several months ago I was blessed to win the entire Stamp Simply spring release, and what a surprise! I am so thankful, and I know I will use these sets a lot. So here's my first card using the Get Well Tulip set. I did no-line coloring, used my MISTI to stamp the sentiment from the Thinking of You Rose set, used a decorative die (that I popped), matted it, and added pearls in the corners.

What a difference it made to attend this memorial service to celebrate his life, as we heard his family and friends speak of how he influenced their lives. What a legacy he has left. We are certain that our brother is enjoying being in the presence of the Lord and is no longer suffering, and we do not sorrow as others do. While we mourn his loss, we have the assurance that we will be reunited with him in the presence of our Lord Jesus...that will be our ultimate joy! 

But we do not want you to be uninformed, brothers,
about those who are asleep,
that you may not grieve as others do who have no hope.
1 Thessalonians 4:13

Sweet friends, thank you for visiting and leaving comments that I love to read. Your prayers continue to mean so much to me...so thank you! May God bless you.

Blessings, dear friends,

Stamps:  Get Well Tulip, Thinking of You Rose (Stamp Simply) 

Paper: X-Press It Blending Card, Certainly Celery (SU!)

Ink:  Antique Linen Distress Ink, Onyx Black (Versafine)
Tools/Accessories: Prismacolor pencils, A2 Filigree Delight dies (Spellbinders), Petite Oval dies (Spellbinders), MISTI tool, Perfect Layers tool, pearls (Martha Stewart), Mono Multi Liquid Glue (Tombow), 3M dimensional tape, red tape
Techniques: Colored pencils, no-line coloring

Card Size:  A2

SaveSave

Eat Cake...and Strawberries!

Hello, sweet friends! I hope you are keeping cool and enjoying your summer (for my friends in the States and in the Western Hemisphere). It's hard to believe at times that some of my friends who live in Australia (and other countries) are having winter. Brrrr. 

Well, I needed a birthday card and decided to participate in July's Power & Spark Challenge...to copy a Bloomie! What fun! I hope you'll consider joining the challenge.

I was inspired by today's Inspiration Challenge on Splitcoaststampers hosted by Audrie. I love her Saturday challenges and don't often get to participate. I decided to "copy" this card made by Cindy Lawrence, one of the talented Bloom Brigade (aka "Bloomies"). I must say that it is a bit intimidating to copy a card made by someone who has been a stamping "hero" and who is an amazing colorist...who also teaches Copic classes all over the country! However, it's always good to stretch ourselves and work at getting better by copying someone like Cindy (who is so dear).

I colored my image on X-Press It Blending Card, and it is so smooth and makes it easy to blend the background by first using the clear blender marker (zero) and then adding the blue. I learned this at my class with Debbie Olson (another "hero" I've followed through my stamping years...and who now is a friend after getting to meet her at the Copic classes she taught). I have learned to love using X-Press It Blending Card more and more. Anyway, I die cut the circle and matted it, and then I added the borders to the designer paper. I used twine and a button like Cindy did. I used my Mini MISTI to add the sentiment. Then I used some red tape and some Tombow glue to secure it all down...and it was done. And now it's ready for the birthday girl (but it's a secret...shh!). 

I am so thankful for precious friends God continues to bring into my life, and I am especially grateful for dear, long-time friends who have walked with me and encouraged me in my walk with the Lord. 

Perfume and incense bring joy to the heart,
and the pleasantness of a friend
springs from their heartfelt advice.
Proverbs 27:9

Even though Power Poppy is "on vacation" right now, the store is open. And digital stamps are 20% off with the VACATIONDIGIS discount code. Who could resist that?!

Sweet friends, thank you for your visits and comments that I love reading. Your prayers continue to mean so much to me...so thank you! And there are many of you for whom I am praying for specific needs. We love and need each other, and I praise God for our friendships both face to face and on the blogosphere. May God bless you.

Blessings, dear friends,

Stamps:  Tea in the Garden, Simply Camellias (Power Poppy) 

Paper: X-Press It Blending Card, Kraft (PTI), Melon Berry (PTI), White (PTI)

Ink:  Black Tuxedo (Memento), Onyx Black (Versafine)
Tools/Accessories: Copic markers, Border Duo 1 die (Impression Obsession), Circles die (My Favorite Things), corner rounder punch (EKSuccess), Mini MISTI tool, twine (PTI), beeswax, button (PTI), Multi Mono Liquid Glue (Tombow), red tape, white tape

Card Size:  A2

Luminous Bouquet

Hello, sweet friends, and happy Monday! I've been busy trying to reorganize my craft room and am making some great progress. But today starts the celebration! We're wishing Marcella Hawley happy birthday TODAY, and she sure knows how to celebrate. She has three new digital stamp sets today. 

Today's luscious digital stamp set is called Luminous Bouquet. Here are some thoughts from Marcella:

"While the afternoon away coloring this bouquet to your heart's content! A large, frilly, open Japanese-type peony is poised atop a cloud of hydrangea petals and patterned oxalis leaves, punctuated with trailing species clematis. Snips of periwinkle vine curl to and fro. This bouquet can be rotated, cropped, enlarged, or reduced to create a myriad of beautiful combinations. Two sentiments lift up friendship and a special friend's birthday."

As you will see, there are several kinds flowers and leaves in this bouquet, so I had to do some research to find color schemes and ideas...and what wonderful inspiration I found! I used GIMP to reverse the image and used Word to arrange the image with the sentiment from Cuppa Buttercups that nestled perfectly in the top corner. I colored a "practice run" piece on regular copy paper, and then noted my colors for each flower and leaf. Then I printed my card layout on X-Press It Blending Card (which is becoming my favorite paper to color on with Copic markers)...then finally started coloring the final piece for my card.

After having colored the "practice run" piece, I played around with it to come up with a layout and decided to keep it simple with a thin black mat and a bit of the image "outside the box" for some interest. I added several black rhinestones, and it was done -- simple and allowing the flowers to be the main attraction. 

I have to admit that initially I was overwhelmed by the complexity and variety of flowers and leaves in this amazing bouquet. But as I began coloring, I started to think about how I wanted to make something beautiful for Marcy's birthday. That's truly when I begin to enjoy the creative process as I moved from section to section...and before I knew it, it was done. I know that God inspired and encouraged me. With all the social media, it can be a struggle. But my desire is to glorify God in all that I do.

Whatever you do, do your work heartily,
as for the LORD rather than for men.
Colossians 3:23

This week, Power Poppy is once again joining Passionate Paper Creations and Friends on Facebook. And of course, Marcy will have a fun blog post today sharing the new digital stamp sets and all the birthday celebration news! What fun, eh? Now it's time for my stamping friends to hop on over to Power Poppy and purchase this beautiful digital image and use it today. But first, be sure to visit the Power Poppy blog to see what Marcella Hawley is up to today...and to wish her a very happy birthday! And from there you can visit my teammates to see what beautiful cards they've designed.

Nancy Sheads
Rhea Weigand

Marcella Hawley

Sweet Marcy, I wish you a beautiful and lovely birthday today and the whole week long (and month long)! You are so dearly loved, and I am blessed by you and so thrilled to get to work with you and your amazing artwork. Big ole hugs and love! xoxo

Dear friends, I am always ever grateful for your visits and love reading each of your comments. Thank you for visiting with me today...and I hope to see you again soon. May God bless you. (And I am entering this card for The Flower Challenge - Anything Goes.)

Blessings, dear friends,

Stamps:  Luminous Bouquet, Cuppa Buttercups (Power Poppy) 

Paper: X-Press It Blending Card, Solar White #110 (Neenah), True Black (PTI)

Ink:  Printer
Tools/Accessories: Copic markers, black rhinestones, Glossy Accents, white tape
Techniques: Digital images using GIMP and Microsoft Word, fussy cutting

Card Size:  5¾” x 6¼”
Copic markers used: Japanese-type Peony Petals – RV55, RV11, RV00, RV02, RV10, RV11; Peony Center – Y11, YR20, RV11; Hydrangea Petals – RV63, V01, BV000, BV01, V12, RV000, B0000; Patterned Oxalis Leaves – RV32, RV95, G40; Clematis Petals – B63, B66, B60, BV00, BV000; Clematis Centers – Y11, YR20; Periwinkle Vine – G40, G43, G82, YG03; Shading – B0000, B000, 0

SaveSave