The Perfect Sunflower with Power Poppy

I do love the beauty of Sunflowers, and there are so many beautiful illustrations of them in stamping, but I don’t think there is any better one that this design from Marcy’s skilled hand at Power Poppy.  It’s called simply called Sunflower Power.  I haven’t coloured it in so long, and it was just the right season to pull it out.  

I started colouring the design with Copics, and finished up the detail work with Coloured Pencils.  This way you get the saturated colour start, with the fin lines of a sunflower petal and leaves.  After colouring I trimmed it carefully and placed it on some rich rust cardstock using an MFT framed die.  The background is created with a gorgeous pierced plate that I’m so taken with from The Greetery called Pierced Plaid Pierce Plate.  I’ve added deeper ink around the edges for more texture.  

I added in ink splashed die cut leaves from The Greetery using their Big Branches: Ruscus Die.  The sentiment is stamped with the polymer version of this sunflower stamp set, and I’ve splattered some gold paint over the design to make it shine.  

The perfect Sunflower, am I right?  :)   

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The Perfect Sunflower with Power Poppy

Summer Seaside Scene with Concord & 9th

 

For a last little nod to Summer this week I thought I’d pop in with one more scene which uses the Seaside Post Bundle from Concord & 9th.  Today I’ve used the stencil to create a Sunset view from the cliffs.  I ink blended with stencil for all the layers, and then added in some white gel pen and coloured pencil accents into the sea and sun rays. 

I added in some dies from the set to accent the sentiment (from the Parcel of Petals Stamp set), die cut the image with the large postage die in the set, and then stamped the background with postmarks in the stamp set.  I think this combination of Harbor Blue, Cranberry, Pebble and Cobblestone plus Creamsicle is a perfect Summer colour combo. 

This totally gives me the Northern California vibes!  Thanks for joining me!  

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Summer Seaside Scene with Concord & 9th

Hummingbird Harmony with Crafty Meraki

Hi There!  I have a project that I haven’t shown yet which I created for the latest Crafty Meraki Release.   It uses two new stamp sets called Hummingbird Harmony and its coordinating die, and Flower Fest Stamps with its coordinating dies.  I took a selection of beautiful tropical flowers from the set, and a little bitty hummingbird and coloured them up with Copics using lots of saturated colour.  

After adding some shimmery pen to the hummingbird, I arranged the flowers on an ink blended cardbase and frame, popping up some elements for lots of dimension. 

All that was left was some iridescent sequins to add to that sense of shimmer.  It’s a burst of tropical colour for the last days of Summer.  

Thanks for joining me!

 

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Hummingbird Harmony with Crafty Meraki

September Summer with Concord & 9th

 

Hello!  I don’t know about you - but we’ve had the most beautiful hot end to Summer this week.  I’m not sure how many more days we’ll get back to 31 degrees Celcius yet this month.  But we enjoyed it with motorcycle rides, walks and time in the hammock.  With that, I wanted to take one last splash this week at Summer cards.  Today its with this wonderful designs from Concord and 9th called Season Post Bundle.  For this mini-slimline design I used the postage elements of the dies in the set to create a little scene for someone who’s been there for you. 

With some ink blending in the background with the stencils it gives some sky and sea colour.  I also added in some white gel pen to accent the sparkle of the water, and then its all about simple die cut layers, and a postage stamp bottom.  I also added textured stripes from Concord & 9th’s Double Stripe Card Front Die, to keep with that horizontal stripe theme of the mini-slimline.  A few postage marks and its as cute as can be!

Thanks for dropping by today!  I’ll have some more Summer for you this week, so stay tuned!

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September Summer with Concord & 9th

You’re Otterly Fintastic with TCP

 

How’s your Summer going?  That is, if you’re in the Northern Hemisphere.  Mine has gone far too quick for my taste!  Today I’m bringing you some delightful tastes of Summer and the Sea with August New Releases from The Cat’s Pajamas.  We’ll kick it off with another FINtastic mermaid from the Be a Mermaid set.  I just love the illustration on this set with all its wavy sketchy lines, and the creatures have such personality!  I have two fun designs to show you! 

I printed the digital stamp onto Copic XPress It Blending cardstock, and then coloured the design with Copics, then die cut it out, with the addition of a few starfish from the Doodled Shells set.  

Next, I created a background on watercolour paper using shimmery Lindy’s Magical Powders and a water stencil.  I moved the stencil several times to get the reflection of water on the paper in purply blues and teals to coordinate with my mermaid.  I also added in additional sparkle with a Jelly Roll pen on the mermaid’s hair and on her fish buddy.  

I applied the same treatment to the sentiment and added some iridescent sequins to accent and mimic the bubbles in the design.  

Next is an Otterly adorable Bendy Card design!

This little water scene utilizes a new template from TCP called the  Portrait Bendy Card Template, combined with the cutest little otters!  This set is called Otterly Amazing, and it comes in a line drawn set, as well as a SVG Cutable .  I’m always about the colouring, so I chose the line drawn otters, coloured them up with Copics.  I think they are darling!  

I fussy cut the otters and starfish, and then built the Bendy Card shape after cutting it with my Silhouette machine.  It’s very simple to put together!  I added in some turquoise paper waves with a TCP retired die, and stencilled “waves” with blue and white ink and a retired TCP Stencil.  Finshing off the colouring with some white gel pen bubbles.  These otters are perfect for this style of card because you can create a 3D scene. 

A few holeless sequins give a touch of sparkle, along with the cute sentiment.  Thanks for your visit, here’s a peek at the items I used today from the August Release.  They are TOO cute! 

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You’re Otterly Fintastic with TCP

Sea and Summer Fun with TCP Stamps

 

Hi There!  Today on the blog I’ve got some wonderful Summer cards that will soothe your soul!  And that’s because they all involve water, and they are brand new from The Cat’s Pajamas.  First off we’ll start with this Slimline beach scene with the new August set “Just Add Water”.  

I arranged the digital images into a scene and coloured the slimline scene up with Copics, with sparkly sea accents using a white Sharpie pen, and connecting lines in the scene with a black Micron pen.  My beach is definitely in the Caribbean somewhere with its beautiful coloured waters.  

I kept the details quite simple since the scene was detailed, but added the sentiment from the set which reads “Happiness Comes in Waves”.  

I’d love to be here right now!   Our next stop on the journey is under the sea with new Mermaids from The Cat’s Pajamas.  

This pretty set is called Be A Mermaid, and I’ve used just one of the mermaids that are included.  After colouring the image with Copics, I placed it windowed style with a watercolor paper frame which I had used Lindy’s Magical Powders on.  This gave me the sparkly pigmented water colour you see.  

It’s full of shimmer with the background as well as shimmery pen added to teh mermaid hair, the crab and the shell.  Even the star fish accent is coloured with Lindy’s Magical Powders.  I also added in some teal “waves” with a retired TCP die and some pretty holeless sequins to give the feeling of bubbles under the water.  

And she’s simply Mermazing!  So glad that you joined me today and I hope it sent you to a beautiful spot in your imagination.  

Here’s a peek at the new August sets I used. 

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Sea and Summer Fun with TCP Stamps

Green and Gold for a Grad Girl with The Stamp Market

Today I’m back with the second grad card this week for our son’s girlfriend.  I went with the same colours as yesterday - their University colours of green and gold, but a much more feminine style using The Stamp Market products.  This beautiful floral die set is called Big Bloom Bouquet.  Marvellous, don’t you think?  I placed the arrangement onto a mini-slimline size card that I foiled with a Spellbinders foiling die called Plaid Tidings (retired?).  

I added some ink blending and pencil colour blending on the petals and the same gorgeous shimmery gold cardstock for the flower centers.  

And it’s finished with a perfect gold foiled sentiment from The Stamp Market called Best Wishes Foil Plates and some gold sequins.  It has a very summery feel with the rich colours!

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Green and Gold for a Grad Girl with The Stamp Market

Apples for the Teacher with Power Poppy

Hello!  Today I’m bringing you a sweet apple for the teacher.  Another one of the Retirement cards I created for a friend who has colleagues retiring at her school.  And you can never go wrong bringing your teacher an apple right?  This design from Power Poppy is a digital image called Apples in Season.  And while you won’t likely find blossoms and full fruit in any season, it sure makes a gorgeous design for a card!  

My colouring is done with Copics, with a little touch of white gel pen on the stamens of the blossoms.  

 

The beautiful focal die is called Rounded and Braided Essentials from Pink Fresh Studios, and the wonderfully textured background is created with Concord & 9th’s Basket Weave Card Front Die.  It’s been so long since I’ve used this set, it was a delight to colour it up and bring it to life!   

Thanks for stopping by!  

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Apples for the Teacher with Power Poppy

Hollyhocks on the Fenceline with The Greetery

 

Hollyhocks are such a welcome sight in late summer.  The other day it was raining and my hollyhocks on the back fence were just glowing against the wet cedar wood.  It made such a pretty sight, I thought I’d try and recreate it in card form.  I pulled out The Greetery’s Botanicuts Hollyhocks and my Concord and 9th inks and blended the stems and blooms.  

Here are my hollyhocks on a sunny day with the fence in the background so that gives you a bit of the idea of where my inspiration was coming from.  

I ran the background layer through a woodgrain plate and sponged some green ink overtop, and paired that with The Greetery’s Wood Slice Hearts dies to capture that warm wood feeling of the fence.   

The sentiment uses The Greetery’s Thankful Heart stamp set, with just a bit of colour added using Copics.  Hope you in enjoyed my inspiration journey!  

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Hollyhocks on the Fenceline with The Greetery

Flower Cart and an IG Giveaway!

Summer hello’s!  Flower carts are just so charming aren’t they?  The little pop up shoppe feel of them with the beautiful assortment of florals always draws me in!  This precious die set from Concord & 9th, Flower Shoppe is right up my alley!  I decided to use the same colour palette as the card I made on Thursday, with the addition of a soft ink blended sky in the background.  It’s a great vibrant combo, perfect for saturated summer shades.  

 

All these tiny pieces!  Just so fun when it all comes together.  I created an “awning” for my flower cart and popped it up with a foam piece so it stays open, and tucked beneath it the hanging plant works perfectly. A few white gel pen polka dots on the watering can distinguish it from the other elements.   Don’t those little yellow potted plants look like pineapples?  Totally unintentional - but oh so cute!  

Now, the funny part, I liked this die set so much I forgot I already had it!  So, I’m giving the second one away!  

If you’d like to be entered to win the Flower Shoppe Die, go to my Instagram Page HERE, and follow the instructions for this post.  Good luck!  

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Flower Cart and an IG Giveaway!

Cherry Happy Day!

 Whenever I see something with Cherries I’m transported to Summer and all the cherries that grow on our tree.  That red and green combo is such a fresh one for summer, so these adorable So Cherry stencils from Paper Trey Ink stole my heart!  They are so affordable too, always a bonus.  The stencil has two pieces, one with larger cherries, and this one with smaller cherries.  I ink blended the background in pops of traditional red and greens.  

The sweet sentiment comes from Concord & 9th’s A Bit of Paradise Bundle, I embossed the sentiment, then used the dies to frame it up over vellum, and a bit of red and white checkered patterned paper.  

Clean simple and so sweet!  

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Cherry Happy Day!

Vacation Adventure

 

My husband and I were just talking about adventures we’d like to go on (always a fun conversation), but our eyes are a little bigger than our wallet, and we talked about finding a little camper that we could pull to head out on the open road a little.  I’m a mountain girl, and I will always say yes to the mountains.  So when I saw this fun challenge at Simon Says Stamp called Vacation,  I knew it was a great one for me.  I have this adorable little camping set from MFT (now retired), I knew it would be a fun one for the challenge.  

And if I’m going to have a camper, it might as well be in fun colours I LOVE!  So, here’s our navy blue Pathfinder pulling a teal, navy and coral camper.  Just the right size for the two of us!  And, here are my favourite mountains which I drew in the background, the Three Sisters of Canmore, AB.   I gave the top of the card some woodgrain embossing, the teal layer a plaid layer die cut layer and coloured it all up with Copics.  

I do love those adventures with my hubby!  

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Vacation Adventure

Summer Skies and NEW TCP!

A new month means a NEW release at The Cat’s Pajamas!  Today I’m bringing you a couple of summer themed designs that are delightful, including one of my all time favourite TCP images.  We’ll start it off with our favourite bunny lazying around in the flower meadow, it’s called Kickin’ It!  

He looks so happy contemplating life doesn’t he?  All the colouring is done with Copics, and I’ve added a few accents with a grass die border, butterfly and pennant accents and a few enamel dots.  

Because I need a few more thank you cards, I added a thank you sentiment from another TCP set.  

Next up, we’ve got a mini-slimline design with one of my all time favourite TCP Images, it’s called Take Off! 

I just returned from watching Top Gun: Maverick, and this little guy is definitely not doing mach 10...he’s just putt putting along and making me smile!  I’ve coloured him up with Copics, trimmed him out and popped him up on this stenciled sky background, which I’ve done with an older TCP cloud stencil and Salty Ocean Distress Oxide Ink.  It makes the perfect blue summer sky tone.  

The mini-slimline size also adds to the feel of flying in the sky with wide open space, and I’ve added some strips of paper to give you the feeling of motion....adding arrow points on the ends of the paper strips to give the idea of forward movement.  An enamel heart matching the sky tops it off.  

Here’s a peek at the new Digi Sets I used today.  Appreciate your visit!  

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Summer Skies and NEW TCP!