Town Mouse... Country Mouse

Honored to be invited to join Library Challenge!  Gosh... so busy with real life and haven't been to the craft shack in weeks, but always fun to play along.   It's what I wish I could do 24/7.

This week,  Marina is celebrating three story of the Town Mouse and the Country Mouse.  This reminds me of my best friend Sarah and I: she lives in the city and i live in the country.

I hope y'all enjoyed this.   It was fun make.

Supplies:

• Kraft paper folded into a heart gate-card
• I used a piece of arted-on paper that had some acrylic paint and miscellaneous stamping and cut it to fit on the card base, then glued it using mod-podge and holding it flat with a large acrylic block
• For the country side, I added a pre-diecut treeline (by Tim Holtz) and added Stickles
• For the town side, I used a scrap of paper previously used to clean my brush and made a city skyline and used Black Diamond Stickles
• Tim's paper dolls represent my bestie and me
• Tim's Quotations give the perfect sentiment: my bestie and I are happy in either the city or the country! 

Xoxo, Mary
(Thanks for having me,  Marina!)

SOS 391: Best Friends Day

This week at Shopping Our Stash, I am hosting again, and I selected the theme of "Best Friend's Day."  Welllll... I went back to add a link to "Best Friend's Day" and... it's not in March!!!  Ackkk!!!  Sorry, everyone.  Not exactly sure how I messed that up-- I always check the same cool site (Brownielocks... you should check it out!). 

Anywhoozy, is it ever a bad time to celebrate friends?!  So let's do it! 

While we're on the subject, I am especially grateful for this DT at SOS.  I mean, these ladies are incredible!  I have genuine love for them.  Such a neat thing to be connected via the web only, yet I feel the true friendship vibes and wish we all lived close enough to get together for a drink now and then.

Here is my card for this challenge, made for an amazing friend of mine:

This particular friend has been through a hell of a lot in her life, yet she never ever complains and seldom asks for help, and remains so kind and generous and optimistic and grateful and honest.  She is just one of the most incredible people I have ever met, and resilient is the word to describe her.  Wow.  My thyroid meds must be out of whack because I just noticed that I misspelled resilient on the card.  (Shaking my head... I'll fix it...)

Supplies:

• The main pink panel with dogwood and sentiment were made initially this past fall.  It sat on my desk for a long time, and I even showed it to my friend in its early stages... but it wasn't right. I tidied my desk recently and I tossed this!  I know.  You ever get in that mood?  Fast forward to this week: I lost something in the craft shack and thought maybe it fell into the trash, so I started sifting through the top layer of my crafty-trash and saw this... so I pulled it out!
• The first thing I did was pull off the original sentiment and re-make it using Gathered Twigs DI.  It looks much better in brown.
• The background was embossed with a Sizzix EF and colored with Lindy's Stamp Gang Magicals in Cotton Candy Pink and Poppin' Pink.
• The dogwood dies are by Elizabeth Designs, bought at the Sacramento Scrapbook Expo in October and used this one time!  Dies cut from scraps of paper and inked with Distress Oxide in Antique Linen and Vintage Photo.  The center of the flowers were dotted with Glossy Accents and Peeled Paint Distress Glitter.
• The sentiment was made this time using a scrap of watercolor paper and Distress Ink in Gathered Twigs.
• Kraft paper by Recollections used to mount the panel using 3M dimensional tape.

So crazy how this came from the garbage to being a project I really like!  Thanks for visiting.  I hope you link up with us at Shopping Our Stash, but if there's no craft time, let a friend know how much you value them!  

Cheers! 

SOS 390: Fabulous February

This challenge at Shopping Our Stash was chosen by me: Fabulous February!  Ahhh, February.  By February, some of us start writing the proper year on our checks, we celebrate love, and we are reminded of the beauty of purple Amethyst and violets, the signs Pisces and Aquarius.  In my research, I also learned that each month has a tree, and February's is Pine.

I had grand ideas of incorporating all of these things into a magnificent February creation, but my daughter came to me with a request for a card for her boyfriend's birthday... and his favorite color is conveniently purple!

Here's his card:

I have to say: masculine cards are hard for me, and teen masculine cards are super difficult.  But I do think this turned out just fine, and this kid is so sweet, I know he'll appreciate it!

Supplies:

• Never been used Thickers bought over a year ago, maybe two...
• Purple background made with watercolor paper and Violet Color Bursts (which I haven't used in months)
• I grabbed a stencil that I haven't used in months (Tim Holtz Diamonds) and Black Soot DOx (also haven't used in months...) 
• I popped the colored panels up on 3M dimensional tape which is one of those modifications that *I think* makes a difference for the better.

I'm happy I got out some supplies that have been neglected this winter.  I didn't go overboard with this card like I might if it was for a girl, but I think for a 16 year old boy this has an appropriate amount of embellishing!  Right???

Thanks for visiting, and please head over to the Shopping Our Stash page for more inspiration from the super-talented team!

SOS 389: Make Your Mark

The latest challenge at Shopping Our Stash is being hosted by Chris, and she's encouraging crafters far and wide to MAKE THEIR MARK! You got it: use markers!

Here's my little lovey project:

Man, oh, man, do I love pens! 

Supplies:

• The gold geometric heart is from a DCWV pad bought a couple years back at Tuesday Morning.  It is watercolor paper, and I usually like to use powdered pigments on it.   
• Jane Davenport Mermaid Markers!  So, in the interest of shopping my stash, I thought I'd use the markers.  I was addicted to them in spring and summer,  but it's been months since I've really played with them.   Yum!  Missed them!  I used three colors here. 
• Jane Davenport waterbrushes used to blend the Mermaid Markers.
• Finetec Gold watercolors to accent the words.

Here is a little heart box that was from the same DCWV pad, colored the same way:

I hope you get to go find your marker box and join us for some fun! 

See you at Shopping Our Stash, and while you're there,  please visit my teammates-- such a talented group I'm part of! 

SOS 388: Ode to Jessi

The crafting community lost a beautiful citizen recently.

Jessi Fogan was an active participant in a variety of challenges, and a beloved design team member of several.

This week at Shopping Our Stash, we are paying tribute to this lovely soul the best way we crafters can: by using her art as inspiration for us.  In this way,  she lives on. 

I've made a card inspired by two of her creations.

This is my card:

Okay, so, Jessi was so inspiring that as I went sadly through her posts,  my heart lifted and my inspiration just began to swell from her creativity.  Initially,  I thought I'd kind of CASE THIS one:

... but as I began to create my version,  I felt a bright version was more fitting for the fun-loving Jessi.  So, I drew inspiration from the ginkgo leaf , the splatters, and the layout but went in search for a way to lighten it and brighten it.  I found THIS one:

I just love the inky goodness here!  I had already committed to the layout of the ginkgo card, but now I felt more direction for the brighter version.   I noticed the triple rhinestones on each,  but since my paper was so warped after the heat embossing (rrrr...) I decided to make it a postcard... so rhinestones were ditched for Stickles.  Perfect, because I notice Jessi was not shy with the glitter!

Supplies:

• Canson watercolor panel, painted weeks ago.
• WOW embossing powder in Sweet Cheeks.  You can see from the close-up how unique this powder is.
• Stickles in Crystal
• Gingko leaf carved by yours truly in December.
• Perfect Medium pen used for the sentiment
• Fiskars corner punch
• Prussian Blue Color Bursts splattered over it

I hope you have a chance to peruse Jessi's blog-- you will undoubtedly be inspired.  This challenge at SOS will remain open for two weeks, so you will have plenty of time to create.

SOS 387: Inspired by quilting!

Hello!

This week at Shopping Our Stash, I am your hostess and I've chosen the theme of "Inspired by quilting" because January 26 is "Visit your local quilt shop day!"

Here is my little card:

Supplies:

• Echo Park Alice In Wonderland pad.  I bought this last summer so it's not super-old, but, shame on me: I had no business buying more paper!
• Fiskars hexagon punch
• Sewing machine
• Nuvo Drops in pearl
• Diecut pack by MME

This card will go to the teacher at the school who is directing this year's play which is... Alice In Wonderland!

Can't wait to see what you create with this great stash-buster of a challenge!  See you over at Shopping Our Stash.

SOS: Winter Blues

Happy 2019, everyone!

We are fresh from a winter's "nap" at Shopping Our Stash and ready with a new challenge for ya'll: Winter Blues!  So, do winter, do blues, or do both!

I am sharing a little blue art journal spread:

(Pardon the terrible picture... I'll try to get better images when the sun shines)

Supplies:

• Dylusions journal
• An old Forest Science journal page stamped with a repeating stamp carved from an eraser a couple weeks ago.  I glued this into my journal over an unfinished spread.
• Vintage baby blue seam binding from my stash
• Prussian Blue Colorbursts (pre-liquified in a tiny bottle) dripped into the orange and seam binding
• Distress Crayons in Chipped Sapphire, Tumbled Glass, and Mermaid Lagoon added here and there and everywhere
• Blue chunky Stickles from my stash
• Tim's paper doll (from the Halloween set, I believe)

That's it.  Thus journal spread was made in a funk.  I didn't like any of the blue stuff I'd done,  so I minimized supplies and told myself to just play, basically.  No goal,  no message.  Just use some stash and blue supplies.  I don't love there result,  but playing with the supplies was far from a bad time!  

Hope you'll join us, and hope my card-making mojo joins us soon!  

See you at SOS!