Taking a Small Break

Hi everyone :) I'm taking a break from my blog, as you may have noticed I haven't posted for a bit.
I am having some work done in my home which makes it a bit difficult to work on things! I hope to be back in September....maybe even a bit before that :)
I'll try to continue making the rounds of my blogging friends and leave some comments.
Hope you are all enjoying your summer.

Graphicat Challenge Card

I'm entering this card in the Graphicat Sketch Challenge. This is one of the cute little images that I won in a give-away...Thanks Tanya :)

I've used all SU! paper and sentiments, pencil crayons to colour plus Sakura pens, Stickles, Smooch paint, Happy Birthday embossing folder, and some crinkle ribbon. The off-set paper behind the Dragon has the masking tape technique---cover a piece of cardstock with small bits of masking tape, sponge on ink, coat with clear embossing powder, and heat. The tutorial is on SplitCoast Stampers under Faux Leather Technique.

Here's a view from the side to show there is a bit of dimension :)

And here is the Sketch for you.

Be sure to check out the Challenge blog for lots of great ideas and of course you can go to Cheri's store from there too :)

My Canvas and A Bit of This and That

I'm finished the 16" x 20" canvas. It hangs on my bedroom wall which still needs to be painted, but I didn't want to wait. It's a 'flat' canvas and I think I like the thicker ones better, but hey, it's done and I do like it :) If you like, you can check on my sidebar under Canvas Picture, to see the earlier makings of this one.

I picked a couple of roses from my garden. Some slugs are feasting on their leaves I'll have to get something to get rid of them before they ruin my plants. So far nothing else is touched!

A nice little reflection of my patio door and a sunny day :)

I babysat over the weekend.

My poochies didn't think much of that! But, we managed and all was good in the end.

I made some soup, even in this heat! And darn good it was too :) I found it on Pinterest, the recipe is from The Greens Cook Book, called Mexican Vegetable Soup with Lime and Avocvado. You can find the recipe here
I didn't have the hominy or chipolte chilies, so I added half a can of stewed Italian tomatoes with herbs (it called for fresh), big spoonful of salsa and a few dashes of Louisiana hot sauce. I didn't have green beans so I added some frozen peas. Instead of chicken stock, I used a package of Lipton Chicken Noodle soup and took out half the noodles.
To make it stretch even further, I threw in a large can of Italian Wedding soup. So what's left of the original recipe, lol, the carrots, onion and spices--I love adapting a recipe.

Dish up a bowl and add chopped avocado. I added the lime, squeezed over top, with a spoonful of sour cream. Wonderful flavour!

Also, I made this little mug cover I saw on Pinterest, you can find the pattern here. It's cute, but I can't drink out of the cup with that yarn right there :) however, it could work on a taller mug.

Thanks for stopping by for a visit, hope you are all enjoying the beautiful summer weather we've been having :)

Need a Lift?

My card for the Crafts and Me Challenge this week.

I've had this image coloured for a while and finally get to use it :) She's a Hannah Lynn digi that you can find over at the Crafts and Me online shop.

I've used X-Press It blender paper with Copics for the image, Stampin Up! cardstock and ink for sponging around the distressed star edges and the sentiments. The printed paper is from Hot Off The Press, I pierced and did faux stitching around it. Stars, diamonds and rose are from my stash. I cut out my own star shape which is about 6 1/2" tip to tip. The inside says 'You can count on me'.

Thanks for stopping by and be sure to check out the links above to see the Crafts and Me Challenge blog, the online store or their blog :)

Tissue Tape Card

The 'Way to Use it Thursday' over at SplitCoast, was to use tissue on a card. Well I just did a faux silk card the other day and decided to try making my own tissue tape.

I put some Sookwang tape onto my music tissue paper cut along the edge of the tape and voila! homemade tissue tape :)

I used SU! cardstock, pearls, and gold cord, and a Spellbinder die. I'm not sure whose stamp this is, but I coloured the image with Copics.

Thanks for coming by to visit :)

Challenge Card, Paper Roses and More

There is a new challenge over at the Graphicat Sketch's blog. Here is my entry for that, thanks to Barb (I believe)for the stamp and embossing powder. I used distress ink pads and Brushsticks to colour :)

Here is a close-up to show the colour in the faux silk technique that I used. The background piece with the music sheet tissue paper is sprayed with two Glimmer Mists, the gold really puts a shine on it.

And....here is the sketch.

Also, I tried making a couple of roses from the Stampin Up! ornament punch. You punch out about 25 or so, ink them up, curl the edges, and glue them down. There are quite a few youtube videos on making these.

Lots to show you today, here's a watercolour poppy--Stampin Up! stamp and watercolour crayons....

...and my Silly Bird (Stamps Happen)--coloured with Copics--birthday card for a friend...

I have the start of a book here...

Thanks for coming to look :) The family is moved into their new house, so I'm going to try getting this book finished before the end of the month when more family comes to visit :) I love summer!

Copic Grid Card

I found this technique by Julia Stainton. It's called Colour-Bleed Grid, using Copic pens and Copic blending solution. I used SU! cardstock, a piece of printed CM paper, and X-Press-It blending paper. The stamp is SU!, Serene Silhouettes.

But then, I thought I'd try blending in a different way and just did streaks with the Copic pens, then dribbled Copic blending solution down the paper. The horse stamp is PSX, the sentiment is SU!, the whole verse is on the inside. I think this one looks a little more like water colouring. Both cards are 4 1/4" square. The grid squares on the first card are 1 1/4" each.

Over-all, I like the technique--gives a little different look :)

Thanks for coming to look. I have family staying for a bit and we are pretty busy. Hope you are all enjoying the beginning of school break and maybe some nice weather :)

By The Sea, Craft a Scene Challenge

This challenge, over at Craft a Scene blog was a new one for me to enter, but I just happen to have some Scenescape stamps, so I dragged out a couple and dusted them off :)

I've used glossy cardstock for the main image and SU! cardstock for the rest of the card, a SU! stamp on the right edge, a fiskars punch for the fancy edge, some beachy embellishments, and some twine. I took my SU! and Vivid! ink pads and just swiped them across the glossy card stock to get the sea and sky background.



The sand along the bottom of the driftwood and the stones is sand all the way from Scotland--very special :)



It was hard to get a good view of the Gelly Roll, Clear star, pen I put on the waves without getting a glare off the glossy paper, but you can kind of see it here.



Thanks for stopping by, please check out the Craft a Scene blog :)

Tea Tuesday and Grad cards

Good Morning Everyone :)

Today I'm off to town but first I'm enjoying a nice cup of English Breakfast tea. I've had this lovely tin for quite some time and don't remember where it came from, but the tea has a nice aroma and taste :)



I finished two grad cards. One is a 'spring' card and the directions can be found on SplitCoast Stampers. The taller style, that has a place to put money, I saw on Debbies Designs blog--she has a little tutorial with the measurements, just scroll down the page about three posts--I can't get the right post to work.



Thanks for stopping by, we have a nice rainy Tuesday this week :)

Check out other tea bloggers by starting at Kims blog.