Hooray for Friday!

Right now I'm doing the happy dance.  It's Friday.  At last!  I can't wait for a little family time, a little crafting time and a little down time.  Hope you get to do something fun this weekend.  My idea of a good Friday night is playing in my craft room.  Yep.  Total introvert here.

Moving on!  I recently purchased some new to me products from Shimmerz Paints.  Today I am using one of the original product lines they released...Shimmerz!  Guys, these are GORGEOUS!  They are a liquid paint with a TON of shimmer.  Like, seriously!  I snagged one of their newest colors, Wisteria Lane, because I just love all things purple.  Here is the description of the color from their website.

"Wisteria Lane is a part of Shimmerz Paints new Fall 2018 color release. Wisteria Lane is a dusty cool lilac hue with silver shimmer added in. Wisteria Lane is available in a 1 oz jar and all our products are hand crafted by order."

I wasn't entirely sure what I wanted to make but I wanted to give it a test drive.

I'm not sure I caputured the beautiful shimmer of this product but I am totally in love.  I *need* more colors.

This is how I created this cute square card:

I started with a piece of Canson watercolor paper.  I stamped one of the flower images from the Altenew Floral Shadow stamp set with Inkon3 embossing ink.  I sprinkled on clear embossing powder and melted it.  After it cooled, I stirred up the Shimmerz paint and started applying it to the watercolor paper.  I did add a little bit of water to get slight variations in the color but you could totally do it straight out of the jar.  So, SO pretty!  I let it dry for a bit.  I went back with a damp paper towel and carefully wiped off the excess paint from the embossed areas.

I cut out the watercolor paper with a square die called Inside Scalloped Squares from Craftin Desert Divas.  I glued the center piece in place.  I added foam tape to the scalloped border and adhered it to the base as well.  The sentiment is from the same Altenew set and is heat embossed in black on gray cardstock.  I went over it with a Wink of Stella glitter marker.  I popped it up with foam tape as well.  For the final touch, I added a few Sparkling Clear confetti sequins from Pretty Pink Posh.

Excuse me while I drool over the shimmer!!

See you soon...

~Kristina

Glorious in Green

Good evening my crafty peeps!  I am hopping on really quick to share the card I put together for the latest Monthly Mood Board challenge with Craftin Desert Divas.  I had a little extra time while being off for the holidays and I was excited to get a chance to play along.

All of the colored papers I used are from Stampin Up.  Tranquil Tide, Mint Macaron and Sahara Sand.  All of the dies I used (frame, pinecone and greenery) are all from Craftin Desert Divas.  The frame is the Window Pane die and the pinecone/greenery is from the Winter Wonderland dies.

I stamped the two bears on Bristol paper and colored them with a waterbrush and dye inks.  The bear with the snowflake is from the Artic Pals set and the single bear is from the Chilly Set.  I do not have the matching dies for the bears so I fussy cut them out.    

The card base is Sahara Sand.  The lighter green is Mint Macaron.  Before I glued it to the card base, I randomly stamped the three largest snowflakes from the Chilly Set in the same color ink.  I glued the window pane in place using lots of foam tape for added dimension.  I then carefully arranged the greenery pices in two of the windows and some behind the bear on the top right.  Both bears were attached with foam tape.  

I stamped the sentiment from Happy Celebrations onto a piece of heavy vellum and embossed it in white.  I also cut a fishtail end to the right side.  I was afraid the vellum would get a little lost so I cut another piece of the dark green cardstock to put behind the vellum.  I then attached across the window.  Oh...I also used some Wink of Stella on both of the pinecones.  And that's a wrap!

If you get a chance to participate in the Craftin Desert Diva's challenge (#cddmonthly) it is going on all month.  Check their group out on Facebook here.  You kind find their online store here.

Thanks for stopping by!

~Kristina

Winter Coffee Lover's blog hop-part 3

Well, it's almost the very end of the day but I managed to get one more card made for the Winter Coffee Lover's blog hop!

It has been a lot of fun as always and I will look forward to the next hop.  One of these days I'll be more on the ball and get all the cards made I had planned for!

This lovely image is a digital stamp from Le Petite Market.  You can find here on Etsy here.  I'm not going to lie.  I own almost all of her digital stamps.  Yep.  I have a slight addiction to their cuteness.  I encourage you to go check out her store!

My card is pretty simple this evening as I let the image take center stage.  I printed it out on Bristol smooth paper and colored it with Zig Clean Color real brush markers and a water brush.  I added Wink of Stella to her cheeks and the mitten cuffs.  I added the sentiment and cut out the image with my favorite die from Craftin Desert Divas.  I mounted it with foam tape on to some more super cute paper from Bo Bunny.  I think this is the Fa La La collection.

Both layers were glued onto a card base.  It is one of my last few sheets of Stampin Up! Creamy Carmel cardstock.  I had a little crafing incident on my desk shortly after completing this card.  I was working on another card when I bumped this one.  It fell, face first, into an open dark green ink pad.  Yep, that was not fun at all.  When I picked it up I saw only a few major boo boos.  See those sequins??  They cover up the worst of it.  I also used my Signo white gel pen.  I think I managed to hide it pretty well!

Thanks for stopping in!
~Kristina

Winter Coffee Lovers Blog hop

I had grand plans to make lots of cards for the Winter Coffee Lovers Blog hop but life kind of got in the way!  I did get a chance to make two cards (so far) so I'm going to share one of them with you today.  I actually needed a birthday card for my sister who loves coffee so this was the perfect opportunity to kill two birds with one stone!

This bear is just the cutest thing.  He is from Darcie's Yeti to Party Stamp set that I picked up in one of my recent shopping sprees from Butterfly Reflections Ink. I colored the bear with Prismacolor colored pencils and used the plaid paper to direct my color choices.  I felt the reddish paper needed a little something so I stamped an assortment of coffee cups from the Lawn Fawn Love You a Latte set.  I just had to add the little smiley faces too!  I misplaced my notes so I don't recall which one of my many coffee sets the sentiment came from.

The stitched rectangle dies are from MFT Stamps and the banner die is from Craftin Desert  Divas. #winter2017clh

I hope you all have a great day!
~Kristina

Feel better flower

I unexpectedly found myself in need of a Get Well card only to find I didn't have a single one in my stash!  What a sad state of affairs.  Apparently I need to go on a binge crafting session so I have some set aside for future need.  I've got lots of birthday cards though!

Anywho, I needed something I could throw together pretty quickly but I also wanted it to be a little bit elegant.  This is for my husband's great grandmother and I always try to send her something a bit snazzier.

I scrounged around in my stacks of sentiments and florals looking for just the right ones.  I really, REALLY need to get my organization done.  Maybe I'll have a time at Christmas to make a dent.  Ok, back on track.  Let me just go ahead and show you my finished card!

I didn't really have a plan when I sat down but that isn't unusual for me.  I heat embossed the main flower from Concord & 9th's You Are Enough stamp set in gold onto Bristol paper.  I then used the Deep Red Zig Clean Color Real Brush marker and a water brush to spread out the color.  After it was dry, I went back with one of the warmer gray Zig Clean Color markers and went all around the image.  I used the water brush to spread the color all the way out to the edges.  I used a circle die from MFT stamps to cut out the flower layer.

I used a Spellbinders scalloped circle die to cut out the gold glitter layers.  The patterned paper is from Basic Grey and was cut with one of my favorite dies from Craftin Desert Divas.  I then cut the pink layer from Stampin up Rose Romance cardstock using a scalloped die from Mama Elephant.  The sentiment comes from a MFT Stamps set and I embossed it in the same gold powder I used for the flower.  I then cut it out with a banner die from Craftin Desert Divas.  I cut a slightly longer banner with the same die from bristol paper.  I adhered all the layers to a white card base.

I do hope my husband's great grandmother likes it and brings her a little cheer!

~Toodles!

Kristina

Pretty in pink

Hiya fellow crafters!  I made a card that I just had to share with all of you so I'm here with a super quick post.

Joanna Munster from Inspired by Stamping put out a call for some crafty people to color one of her digital images for her upcoming newsletter.  I was lucky enough to be one of the few to get my hands on the image early and color it up.

I encourage you to check out her blog here AND sign up for her newsletter.  She sends out a wonderful newsletter and it usually has an awesome freebie.  I have loved every one since I signed up.  Without further ado...

To be honest, I'm not 100% certain that sunflowers come in pink but I found several images when I did a Google search.  I wanted to color them up differently than the usual yellows.  I printed the image out on Bristol smooth paper and picked up my Zig Clean Color real brush markers.  I love these markers!  I achieved all of the different pink shades with just two pink markers and a water brush.  It's all about quantity and ratios.

When I got ready to do the centers, I added several dots with a sharpie.  I knew they would hold up under the waterbrush.  I then colored right over them.  For a little extra bling, I added an assortment of sequins from my stash.

I grabbed one of my favorited rectangle dies (it's from Craftin Desert Divas) and cut out the flower layer.  I cut a thin gray layer from MFT Stamps Steel grey.  Also a favorite of mine.  I popped that layer up with foam tape and attached it to a pink card base.  And yet another favorite of mine, Sweet Gelato cardstock from WPlus9.

Hope you all have a great day!
~Kristina

Tweet on you

Hiya gang!  I have a quick blog post for you today.  Life has been a bit hectic with year end stuff for my kids and just plain ol stuff!  So I didn't want to wait any longer to share this with you all.

Isn't this digital stamp just the cutest??  It is from Craftin Desert Divas and was released quite a while ago but I just finally got a chance to use it!  Totally perfect for all those upcoming summer weddings.

The stamp is called "Tweet Wedded Bliss" and can be purchased at the Craftin Desert Divas website. I used a die from their Fancy Frames set along with some of the Sweet Sixteen sequins.  I printed the stamp out on Bristol Smooth paper and got busy with my Zig Clean Color real brush markers.  I think I'm getting better at making softer colors!  It is probably hard to see in the picture but I added Wink of Stella to his bow tie and her flower crown.  Hope you like it!

~See you soon...

Kristina

P.S.  If you are looking for a link to the Create with Markers mega class, here it is! http://bit.ly/2rfk0Ro

Zany zebra

Hi there!  We've made it to Wednesday which means we've got half of the week behind us already! Yay!  I'm here to help make the day even better by sharing my latest Craftin Desert Diva's project with you.

I'm sure you have learned by now that I'm not afraid to color my critters any color I choose.  I know they aren't naturally occuring but I just can't seem to help myself.  They practically beg me to color them in whatever zany combination I can come up with.  So today's project is no different.  I *really* intended to use black and white for this zebra but...well...you know.  A super happy, pink and gray Zebra!  I don't regret it one bit.

I actually had the current mood board/social media challenge picture up from Craftin Desert Diva's and I really wanted to use these awesome, bright colors.

Aren't they just super fun??  You've even got several days to enter the challenge.  Give yourself a treat and take time to color up a stamp or two and enter them in the challenge.  Don't forget to use #CDDMONTHLY!

I guess I should get to sharing my card with you,  Here it is!

The patterned paper piece on the left is something I created using a really cool stencil and 3 different colors of distress inks.  I inked the pink and the orange first.  Then I moved the stencil just a little and went over it very lightly with a gray distress ink.  I was attempting to give a bit of a shadow.  I'm not sure I totally succeeded but I still love it!

I used Copic markers to color in the Zebra Note digital stamp.  The sentiment comes from the Tiny Sentiments set and was a perfect fit!  I cut a scalloped circle out of watercolor paper using a die from the Stitched in Circles die set.  I used the same pink and orange distress inks to add the splatters to the watercolor paper as well as adding in some black.  I very lightly sponged around the edges with both the pink and gray distress inks to give it a little pop.The orange circle is also cut it with a die from the Stitched in Circles die set.  The orange paper is from the Gingham & Linen Doodlebug paper pad.

I adhered the zebra down with foam tape and layered up the circles.  I used a dark gray cardstock for the base.  The little pink stripe you can see in the center is also from the Gingham & Linen Doodlebug paper pad. I cut another strip of the gray cardstock and went over it with Wink of Stella to make it sparkle.  I then adhered the stenciled paper on top and added the circles.  I stood back and took a good look.  I decided it was missing something on the right side so I dug through my collection of sequins.  I pulled sequins from the Citrus Bliss mix and the Comet mix.  It seemed like the perfect finishing touch.

Thank you SO much for stopping by today.  I do hope you will go check out the challenge at the Craftin Desert Divas Gallery Facebook page!

Until next time!

~Kristina

Flying by

If you are like me, you are happy to have made it to the middle of week!  It's all down hill from here,right?  I find a little crafting always makes me stop and enjoy myself.  Even if it's only for 15 minutes!  Today I have brought back the adorable elephant from Happy Hello.  I did mention previously how much I love this little guy/gal!

I love using Zig Clean Color markers but I always seem to end up with really bright/deep colors. Sometimes that is exactly what I'm looking for but now and then I need something soft.  To that end, I have been practicing much softer coloring.  I think I managed to pull it off with today's card.

I really had to hold myself back and just lay down the barest hint of color.  Then I just used my waterbrush to pull the color out.  I'm certainly happy with the way it turned out!  I used the Inside Scalloped Circle die to cut the image out and add some detail.  I put it back together and adhered it to a light gray circle and glued it all to a gray card base.  The flowers are also from the Inside Scalloped Circle die set.  I cut them out of Bristol paper and used  a few of the Zig Clean Color markers to add color which I spread out with the waterbrush.  Easy peasy flowers that are a perfect match for my card!

This turned out to be a pretty quick card to complete.  I bet you could even make a set in assorted colors to give out as gifts!  I hope you take the time to check out these goodies at the Craftin Desert Divas store!

~Kristina

Many wishes

Welcome back to my blog!  Today I have a Craftin Desert Divas project to share with you. I'm using the May Mood Board/Social media colors as my inspiration for my card.  They are so bright and cheerful.  I can't help but smile when I use them!

We're really just at the beginning of May so you have LOTS of time to whip up a project to participate in the challenge.  Check out the CDD Gallery FB Group for further details.  Don't forget to use #cddmonthly!

Now I know peacocks don't really come in these colors but isn't it super fun?!  I created the background on watercolor paper using Kuretake Gansai watercolors.  After the colors splotches were dry, I splattered it with all the different colors from the splotches as well as adding gold and black. Once it was completely dry I cut it using one of the dies from Fancy Frames dies.  I hand cut a pink layer and a turquoise layer.  The green layer was cut out using another of the Fancy frame dies. Then I adhered all of that to a black layer and finally the white card base.  This card is heavy!

The word I cut out of black glitter paper using a die from Wishful Thoughts.  I also cut it out three more times using white paper.  I wanted it to stand out from the card but I don't have much luck using the fun foam with dies.  It always seems to end up a little bigger than the die...maybe because it gets squished?  Anywho, I glued all the layers together and adhered it to the card.  The oh so small wishes word comes from the Autumn Wishes set.  I just stamped the one word from a larger sentiment.  It happened to be the right size.  I stamped it in Versafine black and embossed it with clear embossing powder.

The two thin strips are two different shades of gray.  I used the same die from Fancy Frames so that the ends would match up perfectly and have the stitching detail.  Oh, I almost forgot to tell you that I colored the peacock using Copic markers.  I put a little bit of foam tape behind the parts of the peacock that weren't touching the gray strips.  That finishes up my project!  I do hope you like it!  It was a lot of fun to create.  I do love using my watercolors for backgrounds.

Hope to see you back soon!

~Kristina

Elephant Hello

Hiya!  I do hope your May is off to a great start!  I'm here today to share a new project I created featuring goodies from Craftin Desert Divas.  There is a new monthly challenge over on the Craftin Desert Divas Gallery Facebook page but I still can't seem to get past last months lovely colors! They were just so darn soft and pretty.  So, you have been warned!

This elephant digi is just TOO cute for words!  I was so excited when Tara released it in the store.  I had to color it up right away using one of my favorite mediums...Zig Clean Color Real Brush markers. As per the usual, this was printed out on Bristol smooth paper.  I have yet to get my laser printer to cooperate with using heavy watercolor paper.  I like using the Zigs on regular watercolor paper as well.  Please share if you have any tips for laser printing on 140lb watercolor paper!

My card is so super simple but I think it lets the digi take front and center.  It's too cute not to make it the star!  I only used six markers and a waterbrush to blend all the colors out.  That's it.  Super duper easy.  I mounted it on a pink layer and then onto a taupe card base.  The Hello sentiment is from Simply Said stamped in black with touch of Wink of Stella on top.  I cut a small blue layer, added foam tape and adhered it to the card.  I called it done!  

Seriously, you should rush over to the store right now and get the Happy Hello digital stamp!  At .99 cents, CDD digis are an awesome value!

I'll be seeing you soon!

~Kristina

Fluttering by

I hope you have all recovered from the new release.  I also hope you have some of those wonderful new products in your eager hands!  I can sense lots of crafting going on!  I'm here to remind you that the April Monthly Challenge is still going on until the end of the month.  What a perfect excuse to use some of those brand new goodies!  Who needs to wash the dishes anyways??

The colors from this month's challenge are just so soft and lovely!  Let me share my newest project with you.

Today's project features the Butterfly Garden digi stamp.  She's the sweetest little butterfly and I adore the flowers that come with it.  I printed the flower base and the butterfly out on Bristol Smooth paper so that I could you use my Zig Clean Color real brush markers.  I just love these markers!  I probably say that about all of my coloring!  Oh well, I just love them all. Each have their own special qualities.

Everything was colored with only six markers and a waterbrush.  I love how you don't need a lot of colors to get beautiful results.  I just put down a little color and pulled it out with the water brush. Easy peasy!!!  The sentiment also comes with this digi and I printed it on Bristol as well.  I grabbed the same yellow marker I used on the card to color the sentiment.  Then I colored another piece of the Bristol with the purple marker to make perfectly matching layers.  I did spray the sentiment layer with some shimmer spray for that little extra.

The flower layer was cut out with the largest die from the Fancy Frames die set.  Attached that to a blue cardstock layer and onto the white card base.  For the butterfly I added foam tape to the back and adhered it.  The sentiment layers were glued directly down.  Now, do you see the little butterfly and dragonfly?  Those little lovelies come from the Window Pane dies set!  I cut them out from Bristol paper and colored them with just the barest bit of color from the Zig markers spread out with water. While they were still wet I bent them just a little.  Once they were dry they stayed bent adding to the dimension of the card.  I added a little Wink of Stella because you know they need to sparkle!

Have a lovely day!

~Kristina

Friends Like You

Are you super excited to get your hands on the new release from Craftin Desert Divas???  I know I am!  I'll do my best to contain my excitement so I can share my next project with you!

This new Treat Bag die is just so much fun!  I love how you can customize it to have handles, no handles, ribbons and so on.  Possibilities are just about endless!  

This time I colored up the Friends Like You digi stamp using my Polychromos.  I also printed it out on kraft cardstock instead of white.  I wanted to give it a more earthy/masculine feel and I love it.  I cut the colored piece out using the layering die that comes in the set.  I just love all of the mini scalloped edges.  I adhered it to a turquoise piece of cardstock and popped it up with foam tape.

The purple tag is cut out using another die included in the Treat Bag die set.  The tags in this set all have the stitching detail!!   I embossed a sentiment from the Short & Sweet Tags set with white embossing powder.  I also used foam tape on the back of the tag.  As a finishing touch I added some sequins from Moonlit Kisses.

Make sure you hop on over to the New Release section of the Craftin Desert Diva's store and pick yourself out some goodies!

Have an awesome day!
~Kristina

Just For You

Hi gang!  I'm so excited that it is almost time for the new release from Craftin Desert Divas.  The sneak peeks are just about killing me!!  I love everything I have seen so far.  Then again, when don't I?  I *might* have a slight problem.  Like not enough time to use all my pretty things!  I'm sure you all can understand what I mean.

You are seriously going to love this new die that is coming out for this release.  A TREAT BAG!!! Yes, I know I'm shouting...but YAY!  It's oh so cute and you are going to want it.  Let me get to sharing my project with you.

This die has a lovely mini scalloped edge, stitch detailing and lots of fabulous extras.  Tags, handle openings, layering pieces.  It's just about perfect I tell ya!

I colored up the adorable Just for You digi stamp with copic markers and added a few highlights with a white gel pen.  I picked out the colors for the balloons from the sweet Doodlebug paper I used to make the bag.  I then cut it out using one of the dies from the Treat Bag set.  I inked up the edges with a bright pink ink.  I adhered it to the turquoise paper (also from Doodlebug) and popped it up with foam tape. 

For the treat bag itself I sponged all of the edges with the same bright pink ink to give it some more pizzazz.  I also had to add some of the lovely Shimmer sequins.  The Treat Bag dies fit perfectly on a 6x6 piece of paper with a little leftover.  You will need two pieces of 6x6 to complete the bag.  If you're like me, you've got heaps of 6x6 pads laying around (hoarding).  Here's a fun and easy way to put those gorgeous papers to use!

The Treat Bag dies will be available this week in the New Release section of the store.

Glad you could stop by!

~Kristina

Happy Spring

Hi there gang!  Welcome to the spring of ever present rain!  Well, at least that's what it seems like around here.  I hope some of you are enjoying sunshine.  I now that this will bring beautiful May flowers but enough with the gray skies already!  So in attempt to brighten up my day, I bring you some more cuteness from Craftin Desert Divas.

CDD has several of these super cute lambs in the digital stamp section.  They are all so cute that I had a really hard time deciding which one to choose.  I combined two different digital stamps to create the scene on my card.  Lamb with Flowers and Butterfly Garden.

I colored the lamb, flowers and grass with Copic markers.  I cut the main panel out using one of the dies from the Fancy Frames set.  Layered it on pink cardstock and on to a taupe colored base.  I added some sequins from the Citrus Bliss collection.  The Happy Spring sentiment comes with the Lamb with Flowers digital stamp.  I printed it out on white cardstock, mounted it on the same taupe cardstock as the base and popped it up with foam tape.  Ta Da!!  This makes me look forward to the beautiful flowers that will be coming soon.

Since it's a new month, there is a new social media challenge on the Craftin Desert Divas Gallery Facebook page.  The colors are so very pretty for this month!

You've got loads of time to color something up to participate!  Check out the CDD store today!

Have a fabulous day!

~Kristina

Perfect Blend

Can you believe that we are almost at the end of March??  How has the month flown by so fast??  I know my crafty time has been super busy lately.  The Daily Marker 30 day challenge has been going strong and I've managed to participate most days.  Right now we are also in the middle of the Spring Coffee Lovers blog hop!  It's one of my favorite times of the year.

Anywho, let's get on to my project.  Craftin Desert Diva's has released several coffee themed digital stamps that would be perfect to play along with the Coffee Lovers blog hop.  You really don't even need a blog.  Just someplace where you have your picture online that you can link up to.

If you click here, it'll take your right to the coffee category in the Craftin Desert Divas store.

Oh yeah, I was supposed to share my project with you.  I got sidetracked!

This image is so super sweet!  I mean, a coffee and donut holding hands???   CUTENESS!!  I might be biased becuase I wouldn't mind having some donuts with my coffee.  Just sayin.  

I colored the stamp with Copic markers.  I also added Wink of Stella to the steam, the gray part of the coffee cup and the spoon. I think I even managed some on the teeny sprinkes!  Let me tell you folks, this card is heavy!  Including the card base, there are SIX layers of paper.  Yes, six.  I got a little carried away.  Both of the patterned papers are from Doodlebug.  The brown cardstock was from my stash and the think aqua layer was just colored with Copic markers to match the donut paper.  

The pink layer and the brown layer were cut out using two of the dies from the Fancy Frames set. The donut layer was cut out using one of the dies from the new release, Window Pane Die.  I found that the Fancy Frames die fit just perfectly inside the "pane" area of the die.  You'd never even know it wasn't a solid piece!  I layered everything up on a white card base and popped up the colored image with foam tape.  

I used the sentiment that is included with the digital stamp.  I cut it out using the speech bubble from the Mix It Up dies set.  The white paper was too much of a contrast so I colored it with Copics to match.  There you have it!  I hope you check out some of the great coffee digital stamps in the CDD store!

~Kristina

Love you latte!

Hi gang!  Stopping by really quick to share a project for the Spring Coffee Lover's Blog Hop!  I look forward to this because I love seeing everyone's projects featuring coffee/tea/cocoa!  Me, I'm a coffee gal but I enjoy tea and cocoa too.  My project features an adorable digital stamp from Craftin Desert Divas that is being released just for the blog hop!

This bunny is so very cute!  Tara from Craftin Desert Diva's is going to be offering Bunny Latte as a freebie during the blog hop (March 24th-31st).  Be sure to snag it here: Bunny Latte

The image is colored with Copic markers and the little sentiment tag comes from the Doodlebug Cream & Sugar paper pad.   Other supplies used are listed below.

Thanks for stopping by!  

~Kristina

Feed me Seymour!

I'm probably totally dating myself with today's title but I don't mind at all!  It just seems to fit with my project today.😊  Have you checked out the new Craftin Desert Divas release that went live yesterday??  Have you done a little shopping??  There are so many wonderful new stamps and dies available.  If you haven't, hurry on over to the CDD store right now!  Both of the Design Teams have done a fabulous job of bringing you lots of creative inspiration too.

When I got my hands on the new Fox Villain digi stamp, I had an idea pop right into my head.  I knew just what I wanted to do.  The hard part is taking the idea out of my head and making it actually work on the card!

I'm not going to lie.  This card was a labor a love but I feel like I successfully translated my idea to paper!  I used the new Building Dies, Fox Villain digi and Unicorn Hero digi.  I had to make a prototype of the card to make sure I had everything sized just right and would all fit.  The grass and road I just free hand drew in with my copic markers.  I also took BG0000 and BG000 and created a sky with a few cloud details.

For the building, I used a couple of blue markers to color a white piece of paper and then die cut it out.  The fox and unicorn I had to size down a bit.  These too were colored with Copics.  For the pet plant (aka Seymour) I realized the plant stalk wasn't going to be long enough.  No problem.  I just cut it apart right at the leaves.  I held the top part in place and the bottom where I wanted it to be.  I used a Copic safe black marker and extended the stalk.  I colored it in to match the other two pieces.  I used another set of smaller leaves to cover the section where I joined them together.  It's like magic!

After that it was just a matter of putting all of the pieces in place.  I did pop up the pot on the plant and Unicorn Hero with foam tape to add just a little more detail.

Thanks for stopping by today!
~Kristina

Life is a ball

Well hello there.  Yep, I'm back with another project to share!  I did mention I was going to be keeping super busy for the next week or so.  I'm here to share some more inspiration featuring the awesome colors on this months Social Media/Mood board challenge!  Have you had a chance to participate yet?  You should!

My card today was colored with Inktense pencils and a watercolor brush.  Yep, that is another handmade plaid background.  I hope you aren't getting tired of them yet!  It features the adorable Have a Ball digi stamp.  After coloring the stamp, I went back with a fine tip black marker and traced around the entire image.  I love how it helps to make it pop!

I cut it out using the fabulous Inside Scalloped Circle dies.  I adhered the outer circle directly to the background but popped the kitty up on some foam tape.  Just to give it a little extra dimension.  The actual sentiment is included with the digi but I decided to hand write it because I wanted to emboss it. I wrote it with marker on vellum, let it dry for a bit and then went over it with a Versamark marker. I sprinkled on clear embossing powder and applied my heat tool.  I wrapped the vellum around the panel so I could hide the glue.

As a final touch I added Spectrum Noir glitter marker to the ball.  You know how I am with sparkle! Oh, and don't forget the gorgeous Shimmer sequins I added!

I'll see you again soon!

~Kristina

Sending Sunshine

Hello again my friends!  I am SO very excited about this next project I get to share with you.  I get to participate in the new releases this week!!  Woohoo!  It's not a normal part of my digi DT gig but she offered the chance to participate and I snagged it.  Yep, I did a little happy dance.  So without any further delay, here is my project to share!

My project features the new Building dies that will be available with the next release.  Guys, these are fantastic.  There are so many little details that you can mix and match!  Not to mention all of the great stitched details!!  I used the ink smooshing tecnique to color all of the pieces that I used.  I just couldn't be happeir with the way they turned out!

The sun die is from The Sky is the Limit dies, the tag is from Pocket Pieces Hi dies, the grass is from Outdoor Landscape 2 dies and the sentiment came from Summer Lovin and Simply Christmas.  I hope you like my project!  These dies will be available soon at Craftin Desert Divas.

~Kristina