Spellbinders Kit of the Month for May 2019 -- two more!

There is just so much to work with in this kit that I went on and did two more! I was pleased to remember that I had copper "bugs" in my die cut cup on my desk, so those came out to be added. On the second card I used the birds, flowers, and flourishes from the older small die of the month kit called "Little Birdie".  On both cards, the sentiment came from the ephemera pack or the included journaling cards.

I used Nuvo drops in copper, vintage purple and Dream Drops in soft pink. 

Rock That Crown!

So today I am attempting to do 2 challenges at the same time. This usually results in a mediocre card. I'm OK with this one, sort of, so I'm putting it out there anyway.

This week I'm doing both MFT challenges. The color challenge, # 109, includes Limelight, Kraft, Blu Raspberry and Sno Cone.

The sketch challenge, #419 is this one:

The kraft colored crown is a simple shape I've had in my die cut cup for years. I don't remember when I got the die, it's just there. I bejeweled it and added it to an appropriately shaped wonky stitched circle. If I didn't need the kraft in there I would have completely covered it in pretty sparkly things.  There is a strip of Tonic Nuvo drops in gold on the bottom brim. The sentiment is from my newly acquired MFT "Queen for a Day" sentiment set, and stamped in Frayed Burlap Distress Oxide ink.

Fa la la! etc.

This reindeer is from a stamp set in my collection for years. I think I got it in 2015, but it came out in 2012. It is "Fa La La" from The Alley Way Stamps.  The actual "falala" on this card is from a die cut, possibly Simon Says Stamp. I'm entering this one in the Retro Rubber Challenge as it is an "anything goes" challenge. I never seem to have the right theme going on for them, but this is perfect because it is anything, LOL.

I cut the falala from the gold foil background panel and covered up the hole with the brown patterned paper. After adding the cut falala on top, and the Copic colored reindeer, I decided to add a bunch of small die-cut snowflakes. These are from My Favorite Things and Paper Smooches. I cut them from foil and glitter card stock, and topped each one off with a drop of copper or gold Nuvo drops.

I added red Stickles to his nose, and when it dried flat I added Nuvo crystal glaze to give it more shine and some dimension.

It is kind of tricky to photograph mirror-foiled paper, but you can really appreciate all the shine on this one. It's one of my favorites so far this year. Deck the halls you all. Whenever you're ready, of course.

Warm wishes for you, deer.

I'm trying my hand at this week's Color Throw Down Challenge. The colors are slate blue, orange, brown and white.

I can tell you right off the top that working with slate blue is not in my comfort zone. But, moving onward, I started by ink blending 2 similar colors of Distress Oxide ink, Faded Jeans and Stormy Skies. After adding the snow hill, I cut the 2 deer from orange and brown paper. The orange is quite dark in this photo because I tried to ink up the edges with more Distress ink. I also added some typewriter text clear embossing over both deer. I added clear Stickles to the orange deer's antlers, and finished with white and copper Nuvo drops.

The deer are from My Favorite Things' Delightful Deer Dienamics set, and the sentiment is from an old Lawn Fawn set called Winter Fox.

I stopped myself just before I added a copper drop behind one of the deer. I really have to remind myself of how things might actually look.

More flamingos!

This card is for the My Favorite Things Sketch Challenge # 408.  I used more patterned paper from the kit, but it's not my favorite paper to work with for Christmas.

Yes, I am having fun with the card kit, thank you very much! I just enjoy this other paper more.

I love flamingos! Here they come!

Yes, it's the Festive Flamingos from My Favorite Things' October card kit. I was (virtually) standing in line when these became available earlier this week. I ordered on Tuesday and they came on Thursday.

I wanted to get one of these made up as soon as I could, so I basically copied this design from their website. Thank you, Rachel Alvarado for your simple and charming layout.

I was in such a hurry to get this one done that I forgot to add the white gel pen highlights. Oh well, we'll get back to these.

Side note: I find it kind of hard to work with Barbie purples and pinks for Christmas. I think I may save these tiny plaid papers for something else.

The flamingos are Copic colored, and the card is tinted with Distress Oxide ink in Spun Sugar and Faded Jeans. The spots are Nuvo Jewel Drops in Periwinkle.

I'm a big fan of the flamingos. Did you know that all the flamingos at Lion Country Safari are named for presidents?

Another fun flamingo fact: their color depends on their diet. The more shrimp they eat, the pinker they get!  The flamingos at Lion Country Safari are well fed:

Let's ink up a book!

I took a page from an old book, and inked it up with Distress Oxide inks and a stencil, then cut out a raggedy panel with a die.

I really love the look of text backgrounds, but sometimes I find myself trying to read them. What's up with that?  It's like always noticing the tune in the elevator and trying to identify it.

The butterfly, dragonfly, and botanicals are from My Favorite Things' Fluttering Friends, and are colored with my Polychromos pencils and cut with my Brother Scan N Cut 2. I finished it off with a circle die cut and some Nuvo drops in gold.

Now, back to more Christmas cards when no one is looking.  I'll share them all in November/December.

Christmas cards, going to the dogs!

I have the cutest stamps from My Favorite Things called "Happy Pawlidays". The dog images are the best! I made all three cards with the "Merry and Bright" sentiment from last year's "Hand Lettered Christmas". I heat embossed them in red, copper, and green.

By the way, this is what happens when too much is going on on the desk and I grab a card right in the wet Nuvo drop. I sort of fixed it later, but boy was I mad at myself.

These black pups are colored similarly to my sister-in-law's newest addition. He's mostly black with a few tan highlights, most noticeably over his eyes. I used my Spectrum Noir markers for the pups. The copper metallic paper is hard to photograph, but is shiny and bright in real life.

Lastly, for today, is this tan puppy in a dotted scarf. The holly berries are made from Nuvo drops, and once again they kind of spread and 2 became 1. I'm not even going to try to fix that one.

Unicorns or Pegasus?

I discovered, to my amazement, that I didn't have any unicorn stamps. None except the toy pony with a tied on horn and wings.

I went a little crazy and got several unicorn products, including this Avery Elle "Pegasus Pair".  Expect more unicorn cards from me in the future!

These cuties were colored with Spectrum Noir markers, coated with Spectrum Noir sparkle pen, and  cut with my Brother Scan and Cut. I took a white rectangle panel and smeared on some Distress Oxide Inks. Gosh, I love working with that stuff! I then put the whole thing on a plaid background paper from My Favorite Things and added a sentiment strip that is white embossed on black cardstock. I finished the whole thing off with some Nuvo Jewel drops in coordinating colors.

So, if it has wings that makes it a Pegasus? I'm still calling these guys unicorns though.