The Top of the Crop ~

Hey all!  Sorry I’ve been so very absent!  I just haven't had any mojo to create anything this month.  Every morning I go into my craft room just to look around and feel good for a minute, but I haven't been compelled to sit down and make anything.  Hopefully, that will change in the new year!  With all that said, I thought I’d follow along with a couple of friends and choose my favorites from this past year of stamping.
Make sure if you choose to follow suit, to link your favorites post with Karin!  She’s the hostess with the most-ess of this fun little hop!
 
Without further ado, here are my favorites of the past year in order of their appearance on the old blog!
JANUARY

FEBRUARY

MARCH

APRIL

MAY

JUNE

JULY

AUGUST

SEPTEMBER

SEPTEMBER X2

NOVEMBER

NOVEMBER X2

This past year, I was fortunate enough to work with the iCopic and Christmas Stampin’ All Year Long design teams.  Obviously, a bunch of my favorites are from my Christmas challenges!  As much as I love being on a design team, I’m looking forward to a 2012 without crafty deadlines – except those I put on myself.  I have to find a nice balance between family, friends, work and crafty time.  Plus, I want to work with all those stamps I’ve spent $$$ on and haven’t had time to ink up!  lol
Thanks for stopping by my little plot of cyberspace!  Hope to see you all link up too! I’ll try to not be such a stranger around here!  Happy New Year!  May 2012 bring you all health, happiness and a lot of luck!  ;o) lyss

Amber Ink’s 2nd Annual Holiday Hop ~

ETA: Winner has been chosen.  Congrats to #1: Tanny P!

Hey there, hi there, ho there!! 
Welcome to our second annual Amber Ink Holiday blog hop.
This year our alumni are tapping in to their inner elves for some fun and frolic.
We've made our list but you'll probably want to check it twice.
Or check it thrice. We just don't know who'll be naughty or nice.
There are 23 commenting spots to be precise
And 23 prizes to help entice.
So see those badges down below?
Roll the dice. Let elf magic flow…
Hop on Monday
Hop on Tuesday
Prizes on Wednesday
One Grand Prize winner will receive an Elf of the Shelf gift set, so be sure to visit every single elfin spot. The final list will be sent to Santa, so remember… the only person you are really competing with is your elf.
Thanks for coming. Now hop on!!!
I have the sassy little Elf on the Shelf Presents for you today!  I won’t bore you with the details since there are a ton of wonderful goodies for you to look at.  Paper Sundaes provided a jump off point with their Sundae Bar challenge: I used red and die cuts.  The Pink Elephant challenge #128 calls for snowflakes and sparkle.  There's a little sparkle on the brim of this little elf's hat.  I also used the December Sketch for You to Try – perfect since he’s presenting that sweet little sentiment tab wishing the recipient sweet holiday wishes!  Aack!  I just noticed that it’s crooked!  Must have been the few glasses of wine I had at the Christmas party before assembling this...I’ll have to fix that later {blush}
Here’s the lovely list for you to hop around to!  Have fun and don't forget to comment.  If you don’t have a blog, leave your email in your comment so we have a way to contact you and get you your prize!
One more thing!  Some of you may know that I was one of the lucky winners in the World Card Making Day contest.  Well, two of the three boxes of prizes came last week…Oh.My.Word!  I have waaaaayyyyy too many supplies now, so keep on the lookout here for a blog candy post!  I’ll be giving some things away and sharing the wealth because there is no way I can use all these goodies!  Thanks so much for stopping by!  Have fun on the hop!  Happy Holidays, friends!  :o) lyss

Also ETA: the snowflake buttons are little flat backed snowflake embellishments I found in the holiday craft section at Hobby Lobby last year.  I just stuck them to a red button with a glue dot.  Nothing too fancy, but they seem to be a crowd pleaser :o)

Papertrey Ink November Blog Hop ~

Hi there friends!  I decided to bop in here and play along with PTI’s monthly blog hop since I got my goodies on Monday, and I just couldn’t wait to play with them!

PTI has been inspiring us with photos for the past couple of hops.  I saw it yesterday morning and took a very bad pic with my phone to think on it during the pie making of the day.  Not until we were driving home from my brother's house at 9pm last night did I come up with my idea.  Then I realized that I only had Friday morning to complete it!  Aack!  Here’s the beautiful inspiration photo…

As I already said, I quickly looked at the photo and went on my merry way to peel pounds of apples.  So I remembered the pot on the stairs to have poinsettias in it.  Whoops!  I just now realized my mistake, but there’s no more time.  So, we’ll just say that the inspiration is the red, white and green!  Ha!

I just had to use the new Quatrefoil Cover Plate – LOVE!  I stamped and colored out multiple layers of the Year of Flowers: Poinsettia in the Pure Poppy and Pinefeather Copic trios.  The sentiment is from Signature Christmas – one of my all time faves!  I added a little score line above and below the embossed sentiment, but I didn’t photograph it very well.  Here’s a close up of the dimension on the flower.  Thanks so much for stopping by!  Have fun on the hop!!  lyss

CSAYL: Kenny K Inspiration ~

Hey there, CSAYL friends!  I can hardly believe it, but we’ve arrived at the final Christmas Stampin’ All Year Long challenge of 2011!  I really wanted to get all of my projects and cards together for one shot for you but ran out of time this morning…perhaps I’ll update this post later!  That would be fun to see and would help me round everything up for the holiday craziness ahead  lol

Check out this gorgeous inspiration photo!  We want you to pick whatever speaks to you from it and make a card, layout or whatever floats your boat!  We are sponsored this week by Kenny K digi stamps.  Such a wonderful and fun line!  Last time we were sponsored by Kenny K, I chose one of the more va-va-voom characters, Mistletoe.  For this time, I tamed it down with the new Boy Gift.  Such a great image because it really doesn’t have to be used just for Christmas!  Gotta love a little versatility! {wink} 

I chose the colors from the photo as inspiration – sagey green, pine needle green, white and silver.  The dots and bow of the present are colored with a silver AtYou Spica pen.  I actually have a funny little story about this card…my printer has been telling me for the last 3 months that it needs ink.  Well, it’s always printed out a perfect picture or image, so the ink cartridges have been set on the back burner.  Not this time! Some of the lines weren’t even visible!  And of course, I left making this card to the very last minute.  I’ve been wanting to try the *no lines* coloring technique, but I didn’t want to be forced into it!  lol  I ended up coloring the image and going over every line with a multiliner.  Ha!  The printer couldn’t fool this Queen of Procrastination!!

Bop on over to the Christmas Stampin’ All Year Long blog to catch up on all the rules and prizes.  Thanks so much for stopping by!  I’m looking forward to a little crafting down time and only creating when I feel like it, so this blog may be quiet for a bit.  We’ll see…you never know when creativity and the need to create will strike!  Have a super weekend, friends!  lyss

Missing Mojo ~

Hey there!  It’s been a little quiet over here as I cannot seem to find my mojo.  I have so many ideas in my head, but even when I carve out enough time to play in my crafty space, I just can’t seem to make anything.  It’s frustrating!  I kind of feel like walking away from it all for a little while.  ???  Don’t know what’s up with that! 

With that said, I forced myself to make a card today.  I also forced myself to pick up my Copics…I haven’t touched them in a couple weeks!  I chose this weeks Mojo Monday sketch – #214.  I love the Mojo Monday sketches!  Hell, I just love sketches period. 

I also made myself use some paper that I had to order – PTI’s Funky Town.  That gorgeous flower is from Verve’s One Person set and the sentiment is from Thankful Blossoms {an oldie but a goodie!}  I love the boldness of the font.  It’s stamped in Versafine Onyx and clear embossed then sponged with Worn Lipstick distress ink.  Here’s a little close up of the flower. 

It’s embossed as well and fussy cut.  The interesting thing is that the Copic ink kind of dissolves the embossing, so the colors blended strangely…almost like coloring with melted crayons.  Oh well!  I was too lazy to do it again!  lol

Thanks so much for stopping by!  We stopped and got a couple bushels of fire roasted green chilies, so I need to go de-seed and peel them before popping them in the freezer.  Have a great rest of your weekend!  lyss

Shutterfly winners & a Vintage Angel ~

Hi there!  Sorry, I forgot to post the winners of my Shutterfly giveaway.  I didn't have much response, so out of the 4 commenters, the winners (picked via random.org) are numbers 3, 2 and 4.  That's Savannah O'Gwynn, Amanda Profumo and Julie E!  Congratulations, ladies!  Email me for your code for 25 free holiday cards from Shutterfly! 

Here's a card I made for iCopic sometime back.  Hope you enjoy and have a fabulous week! 

I have a card today that was inspired by a text sent from a stampy friend the other day.  She asked if you could color images stamped with other Memento inks besides Tuxedo Black, specifically Rich Cocoa.  Well, I was pretty sure that you could but I just had to try it out myself!  Plus, I just got my iCopic order the other day and had purchased E42 just to be able to do a sepia angel. 

Coloring an image in sepia tones is exactly like coloring in black and white.  I chose the lighter colors for her skin tones and halo (E41, E42 & E43) shading first with the darker colors and blending out with the lighter colors.  The 0 Colorless Blender was used to make it all come together without too harsh of lines.  Her dress and hair are done with the darker tones (E43, E44 & E49).  This was a little harder because there is such a gap between the 44 and 49, but I like the results all the same.  Her wings and ruffle of her dress have just a hint of E41.  As a last touch, I added some sparkle with a clear glitter pen on her wings and halo. 

After cutting her out with a large plain nestabilitie die, I used a 0.03 Copic Multiliner to trace the inner circle leaving just a slight gap to add a few black pearls.  These sepia tones really match well with kraft paper, which I love!  This paper is from a retired Stampin' Up! set from eons ago.  This little ditty is finished off with some natural twine, a black button and a couple larger pearls framing the sentiment. 

Thanks so much for stopping by!  Please let me know if you have any questions!!  Have a great weekend!!  :o) lyss

Copics {0 Colorless Blender, E41, E42, E43, E44, E49}     Edited to Add: I forgot to mention this...in case it isn't obvious, the angel is stamped in Memento Rich Cocoa ink and is from The Greeting Farm's Naughty or Nice set.

CSAYL: It’s My Fave ~

You all know how much I adore sketches – they take all the hard work out of a card for me!  One of our final challenges with Christmas Stampin All Year Long is to use our favorite sketch challenge!  We are sponsored by the uber duber cute Pink Cat Studios Stamps.  One lucky winner will get their choice of 5 digi stamps!One of my all time favorite sketch challenges is the Sketch For You to Try {SFYTT} from Jen del Muro at i{heart}2stamp.  I used the sketch for the month of October on this one.  It’s new starting tomorrow, but you have a little time to still get your sample in. {wink}   I had a total mishap happen with this card.  I set a rectangle nestie up around my already colored image and taped it down (I used painter’s tape).  I must’ve bumped it before I cranked it through the ‘bug (and not taped it down enough) because it was all scatttywompus when I pulled up the plate.  Ugh…I *hate* when that happens!  I decided to cut him out and pop him up on some patterned paper that was supposed to be the back mat instead.  The base is a smoky gray – the perfect compliment to this retired Stampin’ Up paper. 

That’s all I’ve got for you today!  I hope you get to play along with our current challenge and get another Christmas card done.  If you don’t think you’ll have time to make your own cards this year, bop down to this post for a chance at some picture holiday cards from Shutterfly!  There aren’t many comments, so you’ll have a pretty good chance at winning one of three prizes!!  lol  Have a great start to your weekend!!  ;o) lyss

Not ETM ~

I don’t know about you, but one crafter I watch consistently, besides all of my buddies (of course!), is Debbie Olson.  She has been doing a series of cards that are ETM – Easy to Mail.  This card is not one of those!  lol
I just had to bop in here quickly tonight to share a card that has been bouncing around my brain since last Saturday.  I’ve been coveting this Waltzingmouse Stamps set since it’s release last year.  I just haven’t wanted to pay the shipping *across the pond*!  I finally decided to bite the bullet and order…I found out I had plenty of likes…enough for free shipping!  Gotta love that!  This is the Festive Foliage set.  Funny thing about me is that I’m very much Rock ‘n’ Roll, but my Christmas decorating style, and card style, is very much Country (or rustic).  lol  I don’t know what you’d call it really…maybe botanical?  All I know is that I love rustic cream cardstock, a rich cranberry red, a deep evergreen and a bold brown for all my holiday cards.  Oh, and if I can add some rusted jingle bells into the mix, I’m super happy!
Anyhooooo, I used the current Waltzingmouse Sketch Challenge, #71.  It’s stamped in Ranger Distress Pine Needles (how apropos!) and Walnut Stain and sponged with Antique Linen and Walnut Stain.  I'm also editing this to add it to the ABC DT Challenge - Christmas Cards!  I've been making lots of those lately, so you'll probably be seeing this challenge linked a few more times. ;o)
Thanks so much for stopping by!  I’ll be back in the morning with one of the last challenges of Christmas Stampin’ All Year Long!  ;o) lyss

World Card Making Day ~

**Go to this post for a chance to win 1 of 3 sets of Shutterfly Holiday Greetings for you to customize this holiday season!**
Hello, hello!  I’m not sure if you all have heard the news, but you should check out this post on the Paper Crafts Connection blog.  I’m sure that I’ve complained about this before, but I work in an old mall.  Meaning, I seldom get reliable cell phone service, don’t have a computer, nor do I have internet to surf or even check.  That being said, I worked a long day on Monday and was unable to check my email or facebook.  As soon as I set foot in the parking lot, my phone started going off with text messages and facebook alerts.  Turns out a bunch of friends, old and new, wanted to congratulate me!  Yay!! 
I’m over the moon excited and so honored that one of the two cards I submitted for the WCMD contest was chosen.  Humbled, honored and stupefied!  lol  I thought I’d grace this post with my reject   ;o)

This is a simple little 4x4 number.  I cut the large heart from red leather and the two smaller from white felt.  The little square buttons has rounded corners, so I rounded the corners of the card too.  Funny how we crafters pay attention to little details like that, isn’t it?  The sentiment is from My Favorite Things.  I needed to pull in just a bit more black, so I took the button off and tied a bow with black embroidery floss.  A very simple card that ended up taking way longer than I intended.  ha ha!  That’s how it always goes for me!
Thanks so much for stopping by today!  Thanks to all of my fantabulous friends for all of the emails, texts, facebook messages, etc – you all made my day that much more special!!   :o) lyss

Shutterfly Holiday Cards and a giveaway! ~

Some of you may have been around last year to remember when I did this post about holiday cards from Shutterfly.  Well, the time of year has come again to make my Christmas card list (and check it twice!) lol  Being a crafter, I feel the need to make everyone a hand made card.   But…then I hem and haw about who will appreciate what more and who will think it’s cute and then throw it away.  :o)  Welcome Shutterfly to the rescue!!

Shutterfly has some amazing designs for every style out there.  I seem to vacillate between styles depending on my mood – we all do, I guess.  I really like the clean lines of the Berry Merry Frame card and the With Love card is still a favorite – it’s what I used last year. 

I adore doing collage cards while the kids are still growing and changing so much.  This Keep Believing collage card is super cute!  Oh and I go nutty for snowmen, so this Snowman Memories may be a contender for this year!  Oh no!  I think I just found the card I want to do, simple and classic – Classic Mistletoe Frame.  See what I mean?  So many great styles!  Aack!  How will I ever choose?!?
I always order the flat postcard style; that way I can slip one in with the cards I’ve already made.  Plus, if I run out of time to make cards for people, I can easily mail those I have on hand without having to worry about writing a personal sentiment inside a folded card.  Hey, it’s the thought that counts, right?  ;o)  Shutterfly also makes these fantastic photo books – almost like scrapbooking without having to ponder how to put all the pages together.  Such a great gift for the grandparents that live far away!
Now for the fun part!  I’ll be giving away 3 sets of 25 holiday cards to random commenters.  You have until next Saturday, November 5, at midnight mountain time to comment.  I’ll update with a post and the winners sometime on Sunday!  Thanks so much for stopping by!  Have a super week!  :o) lyss

Boo and a farewell ~

Hiya friends!  Hope you all are having a wonderful and warm week!  We were hit with a very wet snowstorm on Tuesday/Wednesday that tore through the trees around my area like a tornado.  So sad!  As I’m typing this up on Thursday night, I’ve just heard from my hubby that our power is back on!!  Yay!  We won’t have to endure another night in the house without heat!!  With that being said, I apologize for the lighting of the photos…no power means no light box!  Oh, the horror!!  lol  This also means that I was unable to work on the Christmas Stampin’ All Year Long challenge because I needed my computer and my Cricut.  Never fear – I’ll be back!

I wanted to make a fun little Halloween card for you today.  I chose to work the sassy little devil from The Greeting Farm’s Naughty or Nice set.  Since the challenge on the iCopic blog this week is orange and black, I thought I’d do a little doodling and draw her sitting in a bed of flames.  I mean, really, isn’t a devil supposed to be in flames?!?  Truth be told, my husband drew the flames for me – he’s the artist in the family, I just like to color!  lol

He drew them lightly with a pencil first and then outlined them with a 0.3mm Copic multiliner.  I used the multiliner specifically because I didn’t want the black lines to bleed at all.  Her purple outfit is supposed to be a little gauzy and see through, so I colored and shaded her skin tone first and then went over it with BV02.  On the flames I used an embarrassing number of markers and then went back and added some shine and glitter with Lemon and Orange AtYou Spica pens.  Unfortunately, I couldn’t capture the shimmer in any pics I took – sorry!  You’ll just have to use your imagination.  ;o)  The sketch is the current Mojo Monday – #212 so fun!

Here’s a little close up along with the list of Copics:

BV02, BV08, BV13, BV29, C1, C3, C5, C7, C9, E00, E02, E11, R20, R24, R29, R59, YR12, YR18, Y11

 

 

 

 

Now for a little extra news…I’m sorry and saddened to say that I need to end my term on the design team with iCopic.  I’ve had so much fun and pushed myself to try things that I wouldn’t have otherwise.  Unfortunately, I feel that my time is just being stretched too thin with a new promotion at work, family and my want/obsessive need to always give you all my best.  I don’t feel that I have been doing that, so I had to make the decision to cut something.  I kind of like my family ;o) and we have to put food on the table {gasp!}, so I’m refocusing my energy and opening the door for someone new and fabulous to work with this amazing company and the wonderful artists on the design team.  It’s been so great to get the encouraging comments and sweet thoughts from all of you!  Thank you!  And Thank You, iCopic, for allowing me to be a part of your team for this time!  Farewell friends!

Thanks so much for stopping by!  ;o) lyss

CSAYL: Sparkles ~

Hi there Chrsitmas Stampin’ All Year Long friends!  Bopping in here with the current challenge this week sponsored by Bugaboo Stamps.  You can bop on over to the blog here for all the fun details. 

Our challenge this week is to make something super sparkle-y!!  I may have gone overboard {blush}.  I chose to use the Ava and Deacon Christmas. 

I printed it out twice so I could pop Deacon up over all that glitter.  The letters are colored flat and then totally covered in purple and turquoise fine glitters.  The color combo is PTI Royal Velvet and Hawaiian Shores – love!!

Here’s a close up of the itty bitty bit of dimension

Sorry so short today!  Make sure you head over to my sidebar and check out all of the creations made by my fellow CSAYL DT!  Have a super weekend!  :) lyss

Happy Feet Santa ~

Hello friends!  Here's my iCopic post from last Friday.  Hope you all are having a fantastical week!  :o) lyss

Hello!  So glad it’s Friday…well, kind of…I’m working a 12 hour shift today and have oodles of work to do!  Oh well!  At least I get to color cards in my spare time ;o)  I’ve got a new little guy to share with you today that I’ve dangled in front of you before.  I know I’ve mentioned how much I am in love with the Wild Rose Studio line of stamps…well, now I have the new Pickle the Penguin character to show you!!  This is Pickle with Sledge – such a great stamp for your holiday collection! 

I colored him up to follow along with the pattern paper – just trying to follow my own suggestions {wink!}.  The presents are colored with Copics while the bows are made super sparkalay with AtYou Spica pens.  I used a little Flower Soft and glitter for the snow at his *happy* feet and a little white flock and glitter for his hat and scarf trim.  The card base and mats are a smokey gray color to tie in with his coloring.  So fun to put it all together! 
Last, but not least!, the super sweet sentiment is from SP & Company, Bold Sentiments II.  Not your typical Santa but a giving little penguin nonetheless!  Thanks so much for stopping by today!  Hope you have a super inky weekend!! 

COPICS ~ BG15, BG23, BG49, C5, C7, E29, E57, R24, R29, W3, W5, W7, YG17, YG23, YG25, YR04, YR12, YR24, YR30, YR31

Easy Canvas Prints ~

Hey all!  I have a different sort of post for you today…I was recently asked to review a canvas from the company Easy Canvas Prints.  While on vacation, I made the family take pictures at one of the photo studios in town – in the Old West style.  So fun!  We got *swindled* into buying the entire CD of photos instead of just one or two prints at the shop.  Let me tell you, I am so glad I did!  Upon return, I had the perfect photo to turn into a canvas.

To start the entire process, I chose a canvas size – they come in a variety beginning at 8x10 and continuing on, even to the choose your own option.  I didn’t want it to be too domineering, so I stuck with the 8x10 option.  Then you upload your photo – choose a higher resolution to not lose too much definition.  The third step is to choose how the borders of your photo will appear.  (I chose a mirror image.)  Finally, you are able to add edits if you wish.  I had already changed my to sepia tone along with some other edits; however, you can change the color/exposure of your photo for a minimal fee.

Here we are in all our Tombstone-like glory!  lol  After receiving our canvas, my husband mentioned how cool it would look inside a weathered wood frame.  Off I ran to Hobby Lobby and picked one up.  Love it - the perfect touch!  Turns out that I didn’t need to choose a border or wrap around on the canvas.  Oh well, now it’s good to go without a frame too.  Note – this is not where our photo resides, but I couldn’t get a good photo of it anywhere, so this is the boring wall it ended up on! lol

With the holidays well on their way, I can see ordering a couple of these or some of the other pics from our photo shoot for the grandparents.  Easy Canvas Prints makes it super easy right now too!  25% off all size prints and free standard shipping!  In the future for the smaller canvas sizes, I will stick to pictures with less detail.  I can only imagine some of the macro floral photos that I adore in this type of print!  {swoon!} 

Thank you Easy Canvas Prints for asking me to review your phenomenal product!  The shipping was super quick, packed very well and the quality is fantabulous!!  Thanks so much for bopping on by!!  :) lyss

CSAYL: Gettin' Spotty with Paper Makeup Stamps

Hola mis amigos!  Como estas?  Sorry, guess I’m feeling like speaking a little Spanish this evening as I type this up!  lol  It’s time for another challenge from Christmas Stampin’ All Year Long.

 This week we are sponsored by Paper Makeup Stamps!  Such a wonderful company - cute, whimsical stamps in a variety of ‘flavors’!  Our challenge this week is to get ‘spotty’ – use polka dots somewhere on your creation!  The winner of this challenge will get a $15 gift certificate to the PMS store! 

I chose to work with Nole.  I got him last year as a digi, but he is now available in rubber – so worth the rubber choice though!  He totally reminds me of myself when I get out the lights and am *not* really feeling that Christmas spirit anymore!  lol

I spotted him up with the darker of the Copics to match the paper I chose.  I’m not sure I love the spots, but they’ll do for now.  He’s matted on some label nesties that I had cut and stamped for cards last year and never used.  Gotta love using those scraps! 

The lights are dotted with glossy accents.  I lightly colored with a colored pencil to show the shine from the lights…and now have realized that I forgot to blend that pencil!  Whoops!  Guess I’ll have to do that before I send it off!  :) 

Thanks so much for stopping by today!  I hope you have a supercalifragilisticexpialidotious type of weekend!!  Don’t forget to stop by the DT’s blogs (links are in my sidebar) for some amazing inspiration!!  ~lyss

Forest Critter Party~

Hiya friends!  Bopping in here with my iCopic post this week.  I didn’t have time to play along with the CSAYL challenge this week, but you should take a gander at all their lovely creations and play along if you can! 

TGIF!  Actually, I can’t believe it’s Friday already!  These weeks seem to be flying by lately!  Before you know it, it’ll be Christmas!  Eek…that’s even scarier than Halloween!  lol 

Today I have a cute critter scene I created for you using the masking technique.  Masking allows multiple images to be stamped without overlapping each other.  This allows you to create scenes and to create the illusion of depth in your image, as well as combine several stamps together. 

I used the Lawn Fawn Critters in the Forest clear stamp set.  I simply placed all the large image stamps from the set on one acrylic block and stamped them straight onto a thin masking tape.  iCopic carries the Mask It medium tack paper that works for this technique and for airbrushing, as well.  Each image is then fussy cut out and stored straight on the stamp sheet for future use.  Easy peasy!  The one thing you need to think about when creating your scene, is what image/s you want in your foreground and which will be placed in the background.  Stamp your foreground images first, place your carefully cut out mask over them and stamp the background – see?  Easy!

I used some October Afternoon Campfire papers, Rustic Cream button twine and Pacific Point paper.  The scene was colored with Copics – BV25, BG99, E08, E19, E41, E57, E59, G24, G28, R02, R22, R24, R29, W3, W5, W7.  The edges of the scene were sponged with Ranger distress Tumbled Glass and Bundled Sage inks using the ink blending tool and foams. 

It all looked a little bare and I couldn’t figure out a sentiment, so I decided to pop a little banner on there.  Kind of reminds me of Bambi for some reason lol.  The banner and birds are from Lawn Fawn’s Bannerific set.  The sentiment is one from my stash. 

Here’s a close up of the coloring. 

Hope you all find a little time to play along with our challenge this week – All about Fall!  The creations I’ve seen so far have been fabulous!!  Thanks so much for stopping by!

Fizzy Moon Christmas ~

Hi there friends!  I'm bringing you a little post from iCopic again.  This one is from way back at the beginning of September!  I've been busy this past week with catching up from vacation, birthday parties, family and friends in town, plus all the work stuff.  Right now I'm taking a break from organizing at cleaning my crafty space.  We have guests and they don't want to sleep on top of paper pads! lol  Hope you had a fabulous weekend!  Thanks for stopping by!!  ;o) lyss

TGIF! Actually, I wish it were Tuesday again because that would mean I would be going camping with my little family.  We had such a good time!  I love being in the wilderness!  Hmmm, that brings a cute little stamp set from Lawn Fawn to mind…perhaps I’ll have to scrap a little page!  So many projects, so little crafty time!  lol

Anywho, I’m here today with a *new-to-me* little cutie from Fizzy Moon.  This darling little set is called Little Messages.  The sweet bear is just peaking around a very large sign that you are able to customize with all the messages included in the set – gotta love that!  I tried something new on this card.  I cut the rectangle with a die and sponged the edges with Ranger Distress Antique Linen ink before stamping the bear.  I only had a scrap of paper and wanted to make sure that he came out level and straight.  Since these stamps are clear photopolymer, I was able to line him up perfectly after all the stuff I normally do at the very end!  I also didn’t have to worry that the distress ink would smear or smudge any of my Copic coloring…this may be a technique I use in the future more often!  The sentiment really pops because it is embossed.  I always use Versafine Onyx Black ink with clear detail embossing powder for my sentiments.  They just come out so crisp and nice!

The holly paper is from the First Edition Festive Treats 6x6 paper pack.  Because of the holly theme, I created a bit of a holly embellishment using some red jingle bells and a twiggy punch.  The bells are tied into a little cluster using the Cherry Divine Baker’s Twine.  I used the twine to tie a little bow through a red button as well.  You can’t tell on this image really, but the bear has one great big button on his belly.  CUTE!  A few more details to finish him off – his paws are stamped, colored and up on dimensional foam tape, his hat trim and pom are covered in white flock and the ground is covered in polar white flower soft.
Thanks so much for stopping by today!  Hope you have a super fab weekend, your fingers get all inky and your Copic tips get dry!

COPICS {E25, E29, E37, R29, R59, W1, W3, W5, W7, W9}