The Cat's Pajamas Sneaky Peek Week Day 1: Yeti To Party!

 

Hello there inky friends!  Today is the day we've all been waiting for!  This is the first day of The Cat's Pajama's SNEAKY PEEK WEEK!!!  There are SO many adorable sets in this new release and I'm excited to help share the sneaks ALL WEEK!  

Our first sneak is an adorable and LOVABLE monster BUNDLE called "YETI TO PARTY!".  It's a fun little set perfect for friendship and LOVE!  Check out the dies too!   I just love all the little monsters in this set but I decided to create a card featuring the luvvvvvable monster!  Isn't he CUUUUTE?!  

I created my card by starting out with a fun Gel Press background.  I used blue, red and yellow acrylic paint on my Gel Press and blended it with a foam dauber.  I then applied some sewing machine thread over the inked plate to create swirly fun design.  Next, I pressed my white cardstock over it and lifted the paper to reveal the fun background.  To finish the background off, I doodled and dotted the paper, splattered some ink on the panel and set it aside to dry.  

I colored my monster to match my background paper.  I pulled some Copic markers and went to town coloring the monster and the balloons then added some colored pencil to give some added shading.  After I was satisfied with the coloring, I fussy cut the images and started working on assembling the cardfront.  

Since I had some ripped book paper from a previous project on my desk, I decided to add that to my card.  I love the contrast of patterns this paper provides on my design.  I then stamped the sentiment and doodled a fun edge before cutting and mounting on the page.  

Just look at that fun color!  I just love how this card turned out!!!  Thanks for hopping over to check out my card and I hope you stop by again tomorrow for more fun sneaky inspiration!  

Remember,  Leave a comment on each of the blogs sharing sneaks and you could win a special sneaky-peek prize from TCP!  

See you tomorrow!

Bring on the Sunshine!!!

Hello there inky friends!  Today I'm sharing a fun inky card I created using some awesome Richard Garay Designs products.  I wanted to use the fun stamp set that is on sale this month called "Good Girls"...in particular, the lady with the umbrella.  I thought the image was inspiring and encouraging and wanted to highlight the umbrella as the sunshine that comes after the storm.  Sooo...I colored up the image with Copics and fussy cut the image to set it aside.  

Next, I started working on the background by using some Powdered Sugar Sugar Stock and the RG Call Gel Press mini plates (I used the thought bubble that resembles a cloud).  I applied media mixer and Sour Crush ink onto the Gel plate and then brayered it on to create a nice blend of color.  I pressed the plate onto the paper and lifted it to release the ink.  I did this several times overlapping the pressed images with color to create a nice layer of blue/white color.  

After that, I splattered some Dazzling Pat (as well as Dazzling Pat mixed with Sour Mist Sugar Drops) to the paint and it created a nice water splattered effect- similar to the effects of Distress Inks with water...but...It has shimmer!

Next, I used a piece of mesh from some veggies I got from the grocery store and applied the Gel plate over that (brayered with the Media Mixer and Sour Crush Sugar Drops) and lifte it to reveal a fun textured look. 

 You can see where the mesh created a scale-like effect in the corner.

After finishing up the pressed panel, I cut the panel out to my liking and used machine stitching around the edges to help contain the design as well as finish it off.  After that, I started assembling the card (placing foam squares on the "girl").  I decided to add the bug car to the edge to coordinate more with the sentiment. 

 To finish the card off, I splattered some watered down white acrylic ink onto the panel and tucked the sentiment under the bug.  I mounted this panel onto a Powdered Sugar layer and then mounted the panel onto a Sour Pineapple card base. 

So fun!  There are just a few more days to take advantage of the June special so make sure to hop over to the shop and pick up your sets HERE before they are gone.  Remember, If your order is $50 or more, you'll receive the fun Music On Digi set for FREE!  

Happy Birthday MOM! Posies for you!

Hello there inky friends!  Today I'm sharing a birthday card I created for my Mom.  This year, she is receiving her birthday surprises a little late because well, Hurricane Dorian decided to interrupt her birthday (and my parent's anniversary) celebrations!  Now that Dorian has left the area, the mail truck can deliver her goodies to her.  

This card features images from the brand new RG Avenue sets Filled Garden, Mandala Boho and Dot Dot Background.  I also used the gorgeous laser cut Doily Elements.  They are so beautiful and intricate and take any card from basic to elegant in a flash!  

 o create my card, I folded a piece of Sweet Banana Sugar Stock in half to create an A2 sized card with a top fold.  I prefer the topfold over the side fold.  Next I used the Dot Dot background and some Powdered Sugar ink to stamp a light dotty background.  After that, I selected some little daisy florals, leaves and sentiments (I used the digital versions of these sets so that I could manipulate their size), and fussy cut the images I wanted to use.  

I colored my images with Sugar Drops so that I could get a beautiful and coordinated look with my paper collections.  Tangy Apple, Sour Mist, Sweet Cane, Sweet Banana, Sour Watermelon and Tangy Orange were my reinkers of choice.  One tiny drop of each...and a little water helped color my complete collection of images.  After coloring, it was time to start assembling my card.  

I wanted the Doily Element to be a major focus on my card just as much as the floral "daisies" so I attached a piece of perfectly sized Sweet Pink cardstock behind the diecut.  Next, I assembled the flowers around the Doily and tucked in the sentiment pennant.  I love pennants vs/ fussy cut sentiments.  When I was happy with the arrangement of my images, I set them aside and attached some pretty golden sparkle ribbon from my stash. I then set my images and doily in place using foam squares.  

After everything was assembled, I used some white acrylic paint to create some flicked spatters here and there and I card was complete!  

Thanks for stopping by today.  I hope you we3re inspired by this creation!  I so enjoyed playing and creating for my Mom!  

RG Studio 360 Weekly Bundle: Easter Blessings

Hello there inky friends!  Today's card features the gorgeous new release set called Amazing Grace.  This set is included in this week's fabulous trio of stamps in this week's bundle "Easter Blessings"!  It's sure to sell out QUICK so head over to the shop to pick it up for a 24 hour discount of 15%! 

To create my card, I started out by creating my background.  To achieve the background, I applied ink  (Sour Guava, Sour Mist and Rich Honey) to the floral stamp in the Gain Balance stamp set, spritzed it with water and brushed off much of the ink with a paint brush before stamping onto the Vanilla Cream cardstock.  I then used the diamond stamp in this set and stamped over the background with Powdered Sugar ink.  After I was satisfied with the design, I flicked ink over the image with a small brush then brushed some ThermoWeb Transfer Medium over this design in random strokes.  I applied a strip of Opal Deco Foil over this and ran the whole thing through my laminator.  Once removed, this background panel revealed an opalescent shimmer and shine that was translucent over the background. 

To finish the background panel, I machine stitched all around the edge and set it aside so that I could work with the cross that I had printed from the digital file (I copied and resized to my preference) and cut out. 

Next, I started working on the digital version of the cross I had printed from my computer.  I painted the flowers and the twigs with Sugar Drops (same colors as the pads) diluted with water and in some locations blended with Ivory acrylic paint.  Sugar Drops are just fabulous medium for my mixed media projects!  I love that I can mix it with so many other medium!  Just take a look at the background below.  You'll notice the brushstrokes left behind as they are opalescent strokes now. 

Once painted and dry (this combination of inks/paints dried almost immediately), I applied some microfine glitter.  I then added some foam squares to the cross and started to assemble the card. 
I mounted this panel onto a card base of Sour Mist cardstock. 

Special You...

Hello there inky friends!  Sending special love and greetings to you as we celebrate this wonderful holiday season.  While I'm out spending some time with family for Christmas and the New Year, I wanted to leave some love with you today because YOU ARE SPECIAL!  

I created these two cards using the gorgeous floral digital set called Special You.  If you're not a fan of digi images, you might be interested to know that this set is available in clear stamp form HERE as well.  When purchasing any RGStudio360 stamps, you'll automatically receive the digital download for free!  It's a TWO FER!  Woop, woop!  I used only the medium sized bud in the set and resized and layered this image multiple times (in Microsoft Word) to create a pleasing little frame for my sentiment.  

After creating the digital design/layout, I printed it on my computer and set it aside.  I then went on to my background.  I wanted to experiment a little with acrylic paints and inks to create a watercolory layer using my Gelli Plate.  It took four layers to create this beauitiful background.  I did not clean my plate between layers, I just used my paintbrush to make swirly designs in the same layout as the floral digi image panel.

Take a peek:

 Layer one:  Ivory acrylic paint and a little rosy pink...

 Layer 2:  Adding a little green...

 Layer 3:  Adding a little aqua...

Layer 4:  Another pink layer to finish it off!

After creating the background, I splattered some metallic shimmer ink onto the panel with my paint brush then started working on the digi panel.  I wanted to add a few tendrils and doodled elements so I took my Staedtler microfine pen .01 and doodled some images.  I then colored the images with Leisure Arts colored pencils and applied Gamsol to blend.

After coloring, I spent some time in my comfort zone...Fussy cutting the image.  Oh there's something about fussy cutting that just puts me into a relaxed state of zen.  After fussy cutting, I applied some golden thread to the background panel just before popping the digi image onto the card then glued on the fussy cut sentiment.  I made sure to add some embellishing touches of pearls and Nuvo Drops (Pearl).  I mounted this panel onto some soft pink cardstock and then onto cream cardstock base (side fold).  

Since my card design was digitally assembled in MSWord, I was able to make four exact images on one sheet of cardstock.  This allowed me to have four panels...FOUR CARDS!  WOO HOO.  

For my second card, I wanted to keep it "somewhat" simple and just keep it to one layer- the layer I designed in MSWord.  SOOO...I cut the panel into a perfect size (Slap my hand for not catching the fuzzies on the edge of my card...I need a new cutting blade on my trimmer!...OOPS!).

Anyway, I colored these images with watercolor pencils this time.  I pulled in a bit more orange and some reds so it's slightly different than the previous color scheme.  After coloring, I doodled again (I LOVE DOODLING!) and splattered some blue watercolor onto the panel.  I also pulled out my White Gelli Roll pen and added some white here and there.  You can see that in the close detail shots.  

I think the white pen added some fun highlighting that is needed in this panel.  As you can see the "scribbly" effect in the close-up, it is not noticeable when looking at the whole card panel.  This Gelli Pen is not as intense as other white pens (more watery) so it allows for just the slightest highlighting possible.  :)

ACK!  Seee... THOSE edge fuzzies!  AHHHH!!!  I took care of them with my fingernail after I saw this close up shot!  LOL.  No worries, it's crisp and clean.  :)

Thanks for popping over.  I hope you have a fabulous week and spend it with those you love.  If you are hanging with yourself, that's ok too...You're special...Take some time to relax, and enjoy a few relaxing moments!  See you again!

Joy Clair and Imagine Crafts Collaboration...Butterfly Kisses...

Hello there Joy Clair and Imagine Crafts friends!  I'm so excited to be sharing some projects I created that feature both Joy Clair and Imagine Crafts products.  It has been such a pleasure working with the Joy Clair stamps and inky/mixed-media products from Imagine Crafts.  Thank you to Joy Clair and to Imagine Crafts for providing such fabulous and fun products for this collaboration.  

Thanks so much for stopping by and be sure to leave comments on each blog along the hop.  If you do, you'll be entered to win one of two $25 Joy Clair Gift Cards or one of two $25 Imagine Crafts Gift cards.  Joy Clair will announce the winners on their blog at the end of the month.  Imagine Crafts will announce on their blog!  

Check out the blogroll for this amazing hop:  

May 17:  

Imagine Crafts Blog

Joy Clair Blog

Martha Lucia Gomez

Jennifer Vanderbeek

Kerry Urbatch (ME!) 

Mischelle Smith

Helen Gullett

Neva Cole

Jessica Pascerella

Nadine Carlier

Tenia Nelson

May 18:  

Joy Clair Blog

Imagine Crafts Blog

Martha Lucia Gomez

Donna Idlet

Alison Heikkila

Lindsay Adreon

Roni Johnson

Steph Ackerman

Jessica Litman

Lori Kobular

Renee Zarate

Here's my little inspiration...Meet my itty bitty Mighty Mason.  Although he's only eight inches tall and weighs less than five pounds at four years old, he packs the typical Schnauzer punch!  He's a miracle, so sweet and full of spitfire!  He's my love for sure!  

So for this collaboration, I used Joy Clair's Butterfly Kisses stamp set and Imagine Crafts products to create four coordinating projects:  

*A Dog tag for Mason, 

*A 12x12 Scrapbook layout, 

*A gift box

*An envelope card

The following Imagine Crafts Products were used in these projects:  

Fireworks Spray (Pear Tart), Shimmer Spritz (Gold, Copper, Sparkle), Memento Ink (Tuxedo Black, Tangelo and Pear Tart), Shimmer Creative Medium, irRESISTible Pico Embellishers (New Sprout, Shimmer), On Point Glue, Emboss White Embossing Powder, Emboss Clear Embossing Ink, Sheet Metal Small Combo Pack (Circle/Square)

Check out my little photo-story before reading on:  

This free slideshow personalized with Smilebox

As this post is quite photo heavy, I've included the step-out photos in slide-show format for the dog tag and the gift box.  I was immersed in creation of the butterfly layout and the card to take in process photos so I'll share them here. 

Using the Shimmer Creative Medium over the layout (rubbed on with finger) allowed me to impress the butterfly stamp into the design.

To color the butterflies orange/metallic, I mixed the Tangelo ink and the gold shimmer spritz together and applied with a fine tip brush.

The creation of the box lid design involved layering acrylic paint, Creative Medium, Embossed Butterfly stamp image and impressed butterfly images.  I also added some Shimmer irRESISTible embellisher to the lid in a "dotty" formation.  The butterflies were stamped, rubbed with Creative Medium and then Sprout and Sparkle irRESISTible Pico Embellisher were applied.

 The butterflies were fussy cut and applied to the box and the Offray ribbon using the OnPoint Glue.  YUM!

 So iridescent and full of texture!

To create the card, I prepared the white panel rubbing Creative Medium and irRESITible Sprout Pico Embellisher with my finger then stamped the butterfly image with Black Memento ink.  The butterflies were colored with the Pico Embellishers.

 Just look at that fabulous shimmer and texture!  YUM!

The butterflies are just perfectly taking flight!

I hope you've enjoyed viewing my creations and I can truly say this was one of my most favorite project collections!  LOVE LOVE LOVE it!