Two Card Tuesday ~ Part 2 NBUS

Did you see part 1?  If you did then you know I am participating in the NBUS Challenge #5 and I finally got my Cheerful Blessings stamp set inky.  If not, you can CLICKY to see my 1st card or click on the graphic below to find out more about the challenge.

Here is card #2.   When I got my Zig Clean Color markers a couple of weeks ago I started playing and experimenting with them to see how the markers worked and reacted with each other & water.  The strips you see at the bottom of my card are a result of that practice.  I took a yellow marker and scribbled on one side of my paper, then took a red marker to the other side. I sprayed the strip with water and moved watched the colors blend and spread.  It was so cool!  I didn't want to throw it out. 

It was sitting on my (very messy) stamp table when the "sunshine" sentiment caught my eye from the NBUS stamp I had just used.  I stamped it, cut off 2 smaller strips then adhered it with glue to my sponged card base.  I love that I saved this piece from the trash and gave some inky love to a poor neglected stamp set at the same time.

Be sure to check out the NBUS challenge and participate.  There are some awesome prizes to be won!  Thanks Darnell and helpers for bringing us this challenge.

I've decided to take a deep breath and enter the My Favorite Things Superstar card design challenge.  Wish me luck and enter your cards too!  Clicky for all the deets.

Stamps: Cheerful Blessings (My Favorite Things)
Ink: Cracked Pistachio, Squeezed Lemonade, Tumbled Glass (Distress); Black Onyx (Versafine); Zig Clean Color Markers 50, 20
Paper: Whisper White (Stampin' UP!); Bristol (Strathmore)
Accessories: Clear Embossing Powder (Stampin' Up!); Ink Blending Tool (Distress)

My Favorite Things Clear Stamps, Cheerful Blessings by Lisa Johnson Designs

VersaFine Ink Pad, Onyx Black

Essentials by Ellen, Julie's Smooth Bristol, 20pc-5.5" x 5.5"

ZIG Clean Color Real Brush Marker 022, Carmine Red

ZIG Clean Color Real Brush Marker 050, Yellow

Ranger Distress Ink Pad, Squeezed Lemonade

Ranger Distress Ink Pad, Tumbled Glass

Ranger Distress Ink Pad, Cracked Pistachio

Ranger Ink Blending Tool, 1 Inch Round

Quilled Creations Precision Tip Glue Applicator Bottle 0.5 oz.

Two Card Tuesday ~ Part 1 NBUS

I'll try to keep this short and sweet because I have 2 cards to share with you and a challenge I hope you will go visit.  My cards today are a part of the NBUS challenge #5.  You can read all about it HERE.  Basically NBUS stands for Never Before Used Schtuff.  If you have been stamping for any amount of time you probably have new schtuff that hasn't seen any love yet.   I know I do.  I made 3 cards today alone!  I'll be sharing the 3rd card with you on Thursday.  You can see the second card  HERE.  

My first card uses the background piece I made in the video I posted last week.  You can CLICKY if you want to see how I made this yummy rainbow.  The sentiment comes from a stamp set I bought a couple of months ago and never got inky.  :(  Poor wonderful stamp set.  It stamped like a dream for me.  :)

Did I mention there are prizes for participating in the challenge?  Oh my goodness, there are a TON of fabulous prizes.  The best prize though just might be playing with your new but unused toys.  ;)

I've decided to take a deep breath and enter the My Favorite Things Superstar card design challenge.  Wish me luck and enter your cards too!  Clicky for all the deets.

Supplies:

Stamps: Cheerful Blessings (My Favorite Things)
Ink: Zig Clean Color Real Brush Markers (003, 22, 25, 26, 80, 82, 30, 32,31, 33, 40, 41, 42, 50, 70)

Paper: Basic Black (Stampin' UP!); Bristol (Strathmore)
Accessories: Clear Embossing Powder (Stampin' UP!); Stitched Rectangle Dies (Lil' Inker Designs)

My Favorite Things Clear Stamps, Cheerful Blessings by Lisa Johnson Designs

VersaFine Ink Pad, Onyx Black

Essentials by Ellen, Julie's Smooth Bristol, 20pc-5.5" x 5.5"

ZIG Clean Color Real Brush Marker, Set of 12

ZIG Clean Color Real Brush Marker 032, Persian Blue

ZIG Clean Color Real Brush Marker 003, Fluorescent Pink

ZIG Clean Color Real Brush Marker 081, Light Violet

ZIG Clean Color Real Brush Marker 026, Light Pink

ZIG Clean Color Real Brush Marker 042, Turquoise Green

ZIG Clean Color Real Brush Marker 082, Purple

Stampin' Celebration 112

Happy Labor Day my American friends!  Hope you are enjoying the unofficial last weekend of summer.   It's supposed to be raining here, but we might still BBQ on the covered patio.  ;)

SC112

There is a new challenge today at Stampin' Celebration.  The colors in this remind of baby boys and teddy bears.  I struggled with what stamp set to use for this though.  I try to use Stampin' UP! only for these challenges, so that is what made it a little more challenging than it needed to be.  Plus I am in full on World Cardmaking Day and Christmas card prep for some upcoming projects and my brain didn't want to focus on this fantastic collage.  

Finally I decided to just start pulling out some SU stamps.  The first one that caught my eye was the burlap background from You've Got This.  I knew I wanted a Crumb Cake and Marina Mist combo, so I pulled it out and saw the flower image.  For some reason it remind me of the circles and medallions in the inspiration photo and the card began to take shape in my mind.

I wanted to do watercoloring on this card, but I've been doing a lot of that lately and didn't want to bore you with the same ol' thing, so instead I pulled out my trusty blender pen.  Unfortunately it was pretty dry, but I managed to make this card work.

https://youtu.be/MdC9KliqJvc

Stamps: You've Got This
Ink: Crumb Cake, Marina Mist, Night of Navy (Stampin' Up!); Black (Staz-On)
Paper: Whisper White
Accesories: Blender Pen, Washi Tape, Paper Snips

Sew Saturday ~ Going Teal for Ovarian Cancer Awareness ~ ALYOF Goal

Last month I missed posting for ALYOF.  My parents were up visiting and I was away from my computer and sewing room the first week of the month.  That is ok, because sometimes we all need a break from deadlines, even the ones that are really good motivators.  I've been debating for the past week on what to do for my September goal.   As I was looking at the link-up a teal fabric collection caught my eye, so I headed to ClotheslineCottons and met Heather.  She is going teal for ovarian cancer awareness.

After reading her blog post I decided to quilt my Riley Blake quilt.  As I work on it I will be thinking of all those fighting ovarian cancer and praying for a cure.  Please visit http://www.ovariancancer.org/about/symptoms-of-ovarian-cancer-detection/ to learn more.

Here is where I am at right now.  I decided to add a wonky frame (aka border) to my quilt.  Once I finish that I can get it ready to quilt.  Hopefully we will have lots of rainy days so I can sew without guilt.  :)  I'm linking up with Melissa and Shanna at A Lovely Year of Finishes.

September Goals

Rainbow Watercolor Waterfall with Zig + Video

If you saw my post on Wednesday (clicky) then you know I have a second card and video to share with you today.  This card is even easier than the first one and it makes me feel like an artist throwing paint on a canvas.

My card was inspired by a card I did for StampNation called Watercolor Waterfall.   In that tutorial I showed how to create a colorful waterfall using dye inks and then asked members what medium they preferred for watercoloring.  I got lots of great answers and things to try, including samples from SusieQ.  Her Zig Clean Color markers achieved the look I was going for and that is why I finally caved and bought these to try.  Thanks for enabling me Susie!  

If you are a StampNation member you can see that tutorial and classroom samples by clicking HERE.

This card was made in a completely different way and sooooooooooo much easier.  Here is my short video showing you how I created this lovely wash.

I'm linking it up again with StampNation's Simple Sentiments challenge

and

CASology's Write challenge (handwriting word dies are my FAVORITE)

Supplies:

Paper: Basic Black (Stampin' UP!); Bristol (Strathmore)
Ink: Zig Clean Color Real Brush Markers (003, 22, 25, 26, 80, 82, 30, 32,31, 33, 40, 41, 42, 50, 70)
Accessories: Black Stripe Washi Tape (Impress); Inspire Die (Penny Black); White Perfect Accents (Stampin' Up!)

White Perfect Accents

ZIG Clean Color Real Brush Marker, Set of 12

Penny Black Dies, Inspire

Essentials by Ellen, Julie's Smooth Bristol, 20pc-5.5" x 5.5"

ZIG Clean Color Real Brush Marker 032, Persian Blue

ZIG Clean Color Real Brush Marker 003, Fluorescent Pink

ZIG Clean Color Real Brush Marker 081, Light Violet

ZIG Clean Color Real Brush Marker 026, Light Pink

ZIG Clean Color Real Brush Marker 042, Turquoise Green

ZIG Clean Color Real Brush Marker 082, Purple

Xyron, 1.5" Create-a-sticker Machine

Rainbow Thank You with Zig Clean Color Markers ~ Video

I caved.  I've been resisting for months because I wasn't happy with my previous watercolor purchases.  But, I finally decided to give the Zig markers a try. WOW!  What a difference!!!  Night and day difference.  These are what I have been looking for.  Vibrant colors, smooth blend and beautiful reaction with water.

There is so much you can do with these markers, and I just barely scratch the surface in my video below.  

http://youtu.be/s5jx96kLb3s

I'm linking this to the new challenge at StampNation: Simple Sentiments

and

CASology: Write  (who doesn't appreciate getting a simple thank you?)

Supplies:
Stamps: Painted Butterflies (Altenew)
Ink: Black Onyx (Versafine); 003, 22, 25, 26, 30, 31, 32, 33, 40, 41, 42, 50, 70, 80, 81, 82 (Zig Clean Color Real Brush Markers)
Paper: Whisper White Thick (Stampin' Up!); Strathmore Bristol
Accessories: Friends Die (CASual Fridays * releasing in 2016); Star Embellishments

Essentials by Ellen, Julie's Smooth Bristol, 20pc-5.5" x 5.5"

ZIG Clean Color Real Brush Marker, Set of 12

ZIG Clean Color Real Brush Marker 032, Persian Blue

ZIG Clean Color Real Brush Marker 003, Fluorescent Pink

ZIG Clean Color Real Brush Marker 081, Light Violet

ZIG Clean Color Real Brush Marker 026, Light Pink

ZIG Clean Color Real Brush Marker 042, Turquoise Green

ZIG Clean Color Real Brush Marker 082, Purple

Altenew Clear Stamps, Painted Butterflies

Xyron, 1.5" Create-a-sticker Machine

VersaFine Ink Pad, Onyx Black

Holiday Catalog is LIVE + an Apology

Woot-Woot!  The Stampin' Up! holiday catalog is live.  You can view the PDF by clicking HERE or you can go to the Stampin' Up website CLICKY to start ordering.  This new catalog is filled with lots of holiday supplies and even more clear photopolymer stamps to choose from.

Now for an apology to my Stampin' Up! customers.  I thought I had ordered catalogs for everyone who had purchased from me in the past 6 months, but I didn't.  I am so sorry!   When I order catalogs for you I have one sent to me too so I know when you guys should be getting yours.   I kept waiting for my catalog to show up and it never did, so I went to check online and discovered the order never went through.  :(  I know many of you enjoy holding the book in your hands as much as I do.  If you would like to purchase your own catalog, click on the picture above and add it to your shopping cart.  Email me letting me know you ordered your own catalog and include your mailing address and I will send you a card specially made by me as a thank you to you.  <3

Happy Shopping!

Mint Thank You ~SC111

What is it about me and the color Mint lately?  I'm drawn to anything mint, aqua and teal.  You should see my lovely fabric collection of these colors.  Swoon.   That is why I was so excited when Stampin' Up! featured a new mint color, Mint Macaron with their 2015-2017 In Colors.

My card today is the second card I made for the current sketch challenge at Stampin' Celebration.  Be sure and check them out and enter your card.  It really is an EASY sketch to work with.

SC111

Clicky if you would like to see the first card I posted before you go.

Stampin' Up! Supplies

Stamps: Chalk Lines, Tin of Cards

Ink: Mint Macaron

Paper: 2015-2017 In Color DSP pack, Mint Macaron, Whisper White
Accessories: Tags & Labels Framelits, Silver Ribbon