CSAYL: Monochromatic ~

Hi there, fabulous Friday friends!  It’s time for another Christmas Stampin’ All Year Long challenge.  This week we want your creations to be monochromatic – all one color, whether that be red, green, blue, black or gold, keep the color of your creation centering around one hue.
I went camping this week, so my time was a bit limited.  Seriously?!  Who knew that camping for one night would take so much preparation and clean up?  lol  It was fun though!  I stuck with a pretty easy monochromatic scheme of browns.  I love to color with my Copics in sepia/kraft tones using E41, E42, E43, E44 and E49.  I need E47 to really complete the set for myself…guess that’s getting added to the wish list! 

This sweet little bear and snowman are from a retired CC Designs set.  They’re stamped in Memento Rich Cocoa and cut out using the Labels 3 nestabilities.  While still in the die, I sponged the edges with Antique Linen and Walnut Stain distress inks.  The card base is kraft stamped with PTI Polka Dot Basics 1 in Vintage Cream ink.  I had a little rusty snowflake left over from a Christmas decoration that I tore apart last year, so I tied that on with some Rustic Cream button twine and a little tag from PTI’s Tiny Tags set.  It matches so perfectly with the little heart cut out!

Thanks so much for stopping by today!  Please play along and get a head start on all those Xmas cards!  You’ll thank me later {wink!}  The winner of this week’s challenge will get to join us as a guest designer in September!  I happen to be good buddies with one of the winners from this month, and I’m so excited that she’ll be joining us in a couple weeks!!  ;o)  Have a super weekend!!  ~lyss

iCopic Blog Hop: All About Children ~

Welcome to the iCopic All About Children Blog Hop!! You should be arriving here from the fabulous Kelli's blog, if not, please head back to the iCopic blog where our hop begins, for the complete list. You won't want to miss any of the beautiful projects along the way!  Seriously, these ladies are so very talented!!

This is Fergus with Cupcake from Wild Rose Stamps...I told you that I am in love with this little guy!  I just had to have him as soon as I saw him.  So perfect for little kid's cards, whether girls or boys!  It's all in the colors you choose to work with...

Speaking of colors, I used the iCopic Weekly challenge #43: Blue and Orange. I am no stranger to this color combo. Here in Colorado, our football team's colors are the very same, so you see them everywhere! I have to put in a little "GO BRONCOS!!" here, or I may be lynched. lol {I really care nothing about sports, so it's hard for me to even type the words!}

Moving on...Fergus is stamped in Memento Tuxedo Black and colored with Copics. I cut him out with a large rectangle Nestabilitie die and sponged Ranger Distress Spiced Marmalade ink around the edges with the Ranger Ink Blending Tool and Foam Pads (the pics are flip flopped, but the description says it all!). The cupcake wrapper is paper pieced, his little paws/hands are popped up on super thin dimensional foam tape, the frosting covered in liquid pearls and the cherry is covered in a super duper thick layer of Stickles (covered with Glossy Accents once dry).

Thanks for stopping by! Your next stop on the hop is our fearless leader, Samantha's blog. Don't forget to to leave a comment on everyone's blogs and play along with our All About Children challenge...because you could be the winner of some wonderful prizes for our blog hoppers!!  Have a super weekend friends!  :o) lyss

Copics {B91, B95, B97, B99, C1, C3, C5, R02, R29, YR12, YR15, YR18, YR61, 0 Colorless Blender}

CSAYL: No RG ~

Happy Friday!! Time for another challenge with Christmas Stampin’ All Year Long!  Perfect Presentation is the fabulous sponsor for this week’s challenge. Perfect Presentation creates printable and cut-able templates for use with digital cutting machines like the Cricut and Silhouette. Not only are these templates for the perfect presentation every time, but you will also find tags, circle cuts and labels for a great price!  The challenge this week is to create a project using non-traditional colors - no red or green!  A random participant will win their choice of one template from Perfect Presentation!

I chose to work with Able Gable, my absolute favorite template from this line!  It's so roomy and easy to put together!  I used Verve's Glad Tidings to add the snowflakes to the base Soft Sky layer.  I thought that was all I wanted to do - no mats, no muss, no fuss!  But it was just a little plain, so I added a mat of Smokey Shadow and stamped a white layer with the snowflakes.  When I moved my craft room from my mom's back to my house, I didn't bring all of my SU! inks.  I had to improvise a little with the inks that I have here.  So I tapped Fresh snow ink on first and followed with a little Aqua Mist, softening the greenish hue of the aqua color.  The sentiment is from PTI's Big and Bold Holiday Wishes and is stamped in Versafine Onyx Black ink.
Thank you so very much for stopping by today!  If you get a chance, have a look at my second post for the day!  iCopic is having a blog hop with tons of fabulous prizes!  Have a great weekend!  :o) lyss

Sweet Milton ~

Hello friends!  This is my iCopic Lover post from yesterday. I've added a few little things here and there to tell you about the challenges that helped me along with this card.

Hiya there, iCopic friends!  Alyssa here with another little sweetie from the Wild Rose Studio line of stamps.  I seriously think that these little guys are my new favorites!  Each little character is so darling!  Just wait till you get to meet Pickle!
Since the iCopic Weekly Challenge #42 is coloring fur, I have a little Milton with Sunflower ditty for you.  When I saw that little sunflower, I just knew I had to pop it up on some dimensionals.  Milton is stamped in Memento Tuxedo Black and colored with {a lot} of Copics!  Seriously, I have a bloggy friend {you know who you are, Chris!!} that always teases me about the copious amounts of markers I use for one image! lol  He looked a little plain all colored up, so I doodled in some grassy ground, flowers and little butterflies to go along with the Copic Creations challenge: Landscape Design.

Again, blogger doesn't like my photos and makes them appear blurry...if you click on the photo, it will open in another window and will not be blurry.  Argh...

iCopic is now carrying some fabulous new 6x6 paper pads!  You can go here to view the entire selection.  The polka dot paper on the large panel is from the new Authentique Blissful collection.  I just got it in the mail yesterday!  It worked perfectly with my image...if you look really closely, the melon-y color is actually surrounding a few of the dots!  How serendipitous!  

Lastly, I stamped a banner from Lawn Fawn's Bannerific clear set in Versafine Onyx Black on vellum along with the sentiment (from my stash) and embossed it with clear detail embossing powder.  I then fussy cut it out and mounted it on dimensional foam tape over the base of the image.  The butterflies in the card tie in with the Pink Elephant challenge #111.  Since I doodled some flowers, I'm also entering this in the Papertake Weekly Challenge: Grow Your Own.  The sketch is from i{heart}2stamp - August SFYTT.  Lastly, this is a sweet little birthday wish card so I'm entering it in Craft Your Days Away #26 and Tuesday Throwdown #61.

You have until Sunday, August 14th, at noon PST to link up your furry creation to the iCopic challenge.  Not only do you have a chance at some goodies, but you may also be featured on the blog!  Thanks so much for stopping by today!  Hope you have a wonderful weekend!!  :o) lyss

COPICS {E27, E29, E37, R02, R24, W1, W3, W5, W7, W9, YG17, YG23, YG25, Y15, Y35, Y38, YR12} 

Happy Birthday Doug ~

My hubby's birthday is tomorrow.  He's 10 years older than me, so I always have to give him crap.  This sentiment is from the Arrgh! Piratey set by The Cat's Pajamas.  I'm pretty sure I've stated this on the bloggo before, but my guy is also a biker - as in he rides a Harley, a dirt bike, and if he didn't have a family, he'd be in one of those biker gangs like the Hells Angels.  I have a HUGE thing for pirates, so I always call him my modern day pirate...hence the image I chose!

This is Billy Blyth.  He's colored with Copics in my man's fave colors - red and black.  The ground was sponged with Antique Linen distress ink and dotted with E31 and E33 to make it look like sand.  The challenge this week on the Kraftin' Kimmie Stamps blog is distressing.  I distressed the edges of all the paper with my scissors (and promptly found my distressing tool right after I finished! Hmph!) and then inked up the edges with a little Ranger Distress Walnut Stain ink.  The sketch is the challenge on Paper Sundaes this week - love it!  Going in my arsenal of go-to sketches!  And since this is a birthday card, I have to enter it in Craft Your Days Away #26 and Tuesday Throwdown #61.  

Happy Birthday honey!  I love, love, love you!!  Thanks so much for stopping by, friends!  :o) lyss

Copics {C1, C3, C5, E00, E02, E11, E27, E29, E31, E33, E37, R24, R29, R59, W1, W3, W5, W7, W9}

CSAYL: Sweet Inspiration ~

Happy Friday, friends! It’s Christmas Stampin’ All Year Long time! Our fearless leader, MacKenzie, has given us a yummy inspiration photo to work from. The winner of this week’s challenge will get to join us as a guest designer in September! (Aack!! I cannot even believe that it is almost my birth month!!!)

Talk about a doozy!! Soft pastel colors and cake…I didn’t even know where to start! I loved the detail on the table, the frosting reminiscent of ruffled ribbon and just had to use the colors of soft lemon and blushing pink.

I wanted to give my precious Copics a break {gasp!}, so I went with a stamped image of a gift from Papertrey Ink’s Holiday Button Bits. I’m challenging myself to use up some old Christmas Pattern Paper and these little gifts are just the size of some of my scraps. I stamped the little bow twice with Pure Poppy ink – so easy to line up since they’re clear stamps! The card base is Vintage Cream to match the little snowmen in the paper (Cosmo Cricket Jolly By Golly). The background is stamped with Lemon Tart and Sweet Blush inks and the Background Basics: Christmas set. I ruffled some soft pink grosgrain ribbon using Scortape and some small glue dots. This is the first time I’ve tried this and I really like it! Totally NOT a mailable card though! Lol

Finally, I wanted to use the detail on the table to frame a sentiment. I found an old Cuttlebug die with swirly, yummy details and cut it out of the cream cardstock. It’s glued directly to the card base with the sentiment popped up on a small dimensional.
Go ahead and bop around to the other CSAYL design team’s blogs to see their fabulous creations. As always, thank you so very much for stopping by! I'll be back later with my hubby's birthday card...I looked to challenges for some inspiration to get it done and want to post before deadline!  lol  Hope you have a fantabulous Friday and start to your weekend! :o) lyss

A Sympathy Card ~

I love to make cards, but one thing I find super hard to do is to make a sympathy card.  I have a hard time even reaching out to someone to say how sorry I am for their loss.  I get weirded out because I don’t know what to say.  Unfortunately, Kayla (my step-daughter) lost her uncle the other day.  He hung himself, and his sister and mom found him the next day.  Truly heartbreaking.  I want to send a card to Kayla’s mom, but don’t know where to start or what to say, as usual.
I decided to find inspiration in challenges to get me started.  I used the Moxie Fab Tuesday Trigger inspiration photo and Cute Card Thursday #176: No Designer Paper.
I used Wplus9 Designs Poinsettia Patterns and Papertrey Ink Mendhi Medallions to create a pattern.  It’s stamped in Dusty Concord (Ranger Distress), Enchanted Evening (PTI), Ocean Tides (PTI) and Spring Moss (PTI). 
I couldn’t capture it in the photo, but the card base is impressed with the Linen impression plate because of the linen on the bed.  The color is Soft Sky to match the locker in the background.  A few pearls around the sentiment add that little extra touch…but I don’t know if it’s too much.  Oh well, I’m sure it’s the thought that counts. 
Thanks for stopping by!  Sorry for the downer of a story, but these are how things go in life sometimes!  Have a super start to your week!!  lyss

A Real Kicker ~

Hiya friends!  Here's my iCopic post from Friday.  I'm also entering this in the La La Land Crafts 1st Birthday challenge.  You have a whole month to create a birthday card using La-La Land Craft stamps for a chance to win a full set of 36 Copic Sketch markers! 

TGIF...maybe that should become my mantra!  lol  All the greetings I have for Fridays are so cliche!  I'll just use TGIF from now on ;o)  Cliche or not, it will suit my posts well, as I always welcome Fridays!!  Alyssa here with a little cutie patootie from La La Land Crafts - Soccer Luka.  This little guy holds a special place in my heart because just the other day, we signed my little guy up for soccer lessons.  This is such a darling stamp, I can see it being used for scrapbook layouts in the future!!
I used a sketch done by a friend for the layout - deconstructing jen.  I feel a little unnerved to have to tilt a main image, but I got through it when I thought about how off kilter my life has been with a 3 year old boy!! lol  (He stuck part of an action figure up his nose today and had to be taken to the dr. office!)

 I won't state all the obvious - but I do want you to notice his grass stained knee...it's just one of those little details that you have to add!  The soccer ball with the star rhinestone trail is supposed to mimic flames coming from his awesome kick!  I added a little depth to the already orange stars by sponging on Spiced Marmalade and Fired Brick inks.  His skin is colored with E11, E13 and E15 for a Hispanic, Native American coloring or even a tan teenager on the beach!  lol
I chose this skin color combo because of the iCopic Challenge #41 - Skin Tones.  We want you to color skin tones out of your comfort zone!  I think we all tend to gravitate towards what we know best or will be able to use within our circle of family and friends...well, step outside the box!  Have fun and try something new!!  Then link yourself up for a chance to win :o)  Have a super weekend!! :o) lyss

COPICS {BG72, BG75, BG78, C1, C3, C5, C7, E11, E13, E15, E29, E33, E49, E59, G00, G02, R02, R20, YG23, YG25}

CSAYL: Gimme the Bird! ~

Hi there friends! I’m typing this up while I’m at work (shhh!! Don’t tell my boss!), and I just had the most unnerving guy come in here. I have this sick feeling in my stomach that he was totally casing the joint…probably nothing, but I think I’ll be calling security for an escort out to my car tonight! Blech…hate that feeling!

Anywho…it’s Friday and time for another challenge with Christmas Stampin’ All Year Long! Our challenge this week is sponsored by Pink Cat Studio Stamps. The winner will get 5 digi stamps of their choosing! Gotta love free stamps!! The challenge is to use a bird image on your project.

I used the Penguin Candy Cane Swing digi stamp.  It's printed twice and the swing/penguin duo are popped up on dimensional foam tape.  I used some black embroidery floss for the swing ropes.  On the candy cane, some Martha Stewart Garnet Glitter and Glossy Accents dress it up.  The pattern paper is Cosmo Cricket Jolly By Golly from a year or two (?) ago.  FYI: for reasons un-beknownst to me, the pictures I post in Blogger are showing up blurry; however, if you click on the full size, the picture is clear as a bell!
We are honored to have the wonderful Sam of Stamping by Sam joining us as a Guest Designer this week! Please bop around to all my teammates blogs - they are so full of talent!!  Have a fabulous weekend!!  :o) lyss