Tuesday, August 30, 2011

Tuesday Morning Sketches #109

Good Morning Crafters -

We have a fabulous sketch this week. I love this sketch and my card. I have been waiting for what seems like forever to share this card with you. We also have a new sponsor - Digi Doodle Shop. I love this digi shop. Do they ever have some amazing images. Be sure to check them out!!

I had such a hard time selecting an image to color that I ended up selecting 3 images and I can't wait to color the other three. I think you'll find something amazing at the Digi Doodle Shop.

I absolutely loved coloring this image. Isn't that little girl's face just to life like and so sweet? I just love all the daisies around her.
TMS-#113

I hope that you'll join us at TMS this week. I can't wait to see what you do with this sketch. Thanks for stopping by. Have an awesome day!!


Theresa

Sunday, August 28, 2011

Sentiments

This week at Flourishes Timeless Tuesday Challenge #132, Cindy has challenged us to showcase one of Flourishes sentiments. When I saw the Zinnias set I was really loved the sentiment that I have selected for this card. Being a teacher sometimes it feels as if what you do doesn't matter. I learned differently this past week.

Sentiment

I began teaching 10 years ago. My first class was a 4th grade class with 18 amazing children. These students graduated this past June and hopefully entering their first year of college. I think about this kids often, but I got a phone call from one of them! Little Allie (now she goes by Alex) called me to tell me that I was one of her favorite teachers and that she was headed off to college. It made me realize that everything I do really does matter. It's why I continue to teach.

I also am entering my card into Card Patterns #130 Sketch Challenge.

I hope you like my card. Thanks for stopping by. I really enjoy hearing from all of you.
Theresa

Tuesday, August 23, 2011

Flourishes 4th Birthday Celebration


Flourishes is lighting the candles and getting ready to sing to honor their fourth birthday! And, as a way to celebrate, I’m happy to say I was hand-picked to help them have a bit of a party as a designer for their customer appreciation hop! The only challenge here was to create a card or project using my favorite Flourishes stamp set. Read on – I’ll tell you how you can win some Flourishes goodies too!

Making the decision on which stamp set to select for my card today - I struggled. I love all my Flourishes stamp sets - especially the flowers!! Well, it came down to a stamp set that is near and dear to my heart. Flourishes is celebrating their 4th birthday, I too will be celebrating my "4th birthday." Nearly 4 years ago I was diagnosed with breast cancer and come October it will be officially 4 years - of being cancer free. Therefore, I selected Think Pink - Fight Like a Girl. I love this set! Isn't this dress fabulous? Happy Birthday Flourishes! Thank you for asking me be a part of this celebration.

4th-Birthday-Favorite-Stamp

 I used the sketch from Card Patterns #129. I thought it was perfect for this gorgeous dress.

What can you win? Take a peek at this fun and festive blog candy!

If you’d like to learn more about how you can win all of these stamp sets, just click HERE to read up on today’s hop and challenge! 

If you arrived here by way of Yogi Grunwald, then you are on the right path! If I was your first stop, you’ll want to go back to the Flourishes Blog to and start this hop from the very beginning! You have until September 1st at 5PM CST to enter!

Next up on the hop is Brenda O'Rear.

Thanks for stopping by. Good Luck!!

Theresa

Recipe:
Stamps: Flourishes (Think Pink-Fight Like a Girl and Kids At Play - sentiment)
Ink: Memento Tuxedo Black
Papers: Me & My Big Ideas (baby girl); Close to My Heart (black)
Accessories: ribbon (stash); Nestabilities; Cricut (Art Philosophy)

Tuesday Morning Sketches #108

It's another fabulous Tuesday at Tuesday Morning Sketches. This week we have a fabulous sketch from our very own Jessica. I love this sketch it really challenged me, but I love how my card came out. This week our sposor is Tiffany Doodles.

I don't often make baby cards. I struggled at what color to color this beautiful carriage, so I decided to paper piece the digital image. I just love how it came out. The card is for a friend. The baby is due in the fall and I thought how perfect to make a fall baby card for a couple that wants to wait to learn whether it's a boy or a girl the day the baby is born.

TMS-#112

I hope that you'll play with us this week. The sketch is not as difficult as it looks. Be sure to drop by and check out the rest of the design team and their fabulous creations. I can't wait to see what you come up with.

Thanks for stopping by and I hope you have an awesome day! 
Theresa

Monday, August 22, 2011

JELLO!

Evening Crafters - just a quick post. I started putting this card together last night and I became frustrated with the flourishes and just decided to go to bed. Well I think I finally found the flourishes that I wanted and I think it came out pretty cute!!

Bike

Although I don't like to combine challenges I am going to do that today. I want to enter the Less Is More challenge. I really do love their challenges, I just don't get to play as often as I would like. The second is CAS-u-Fridays and the last is The Technique Lover's Challenge.

Less is More - Week 29 - Theme: On the Move. Their challenge is to create a card that is on the move. There is a lot of interpretation here, so I used my new stamp set "Pair-A-Phrase" from Close To My Heart...I just love the bike in this set. It reminds me of my own bike which I call Jello! It's pink and green with flowers all over.

CAS-u-Fridays  Challenge is to use embossing.

Then we have The Technique Lover's Challenge over at Splitcoast Stampers - "In CASE you forgot". The challenge here is to go to your favorites folder (which I didn't know existed until recently) and select the oldest card you have in the folder and CASE it. I happened to have one card in the folder. I just love it. Here is the link to the card I CASED by Ctorina.

Please forgive me for combining challenges. I really do like to make cards for each challenge, but with school back in session I want to be able to play along. Thanks for the fabulous challenges.

I appreciate you're stopping by. I hope you enjoy my card.
Theresa

Sunday, August 21, 2011

Flourishes In Pink

Good Morning crafters, what a beautiful Sunday morning!! I decided to get up early today so that I could spend the day making cards. I went to the school yesterday and painted my old green chalkboared with magnetic paint!! What a messy process, but I am so excited that a useless board will now be worth having. It gave me the idea that the wall in front of the crafting table should be painted with magnetic paint so that I can post some items without using tape or nails!!

This week the Flourishes Timesless Tuesday Challenge #131 is a recipe challenge: pink, one button, and lace. Now how could I pass making a card in my favorite color - pink? All three elements are my favorite, especially pink. I selected Butterflies & Blossoms. The flowers are called clematis and I learned they are a SW Colorado wild flower. I think they are gorgeous. I really enjoyed coloring this image, especially that butterfly.

Flourishes-Pink


Thanks for coming by. I hope you enjoy my card. Have a fabulous day!!
Theresa

Wednesday, August 17, 2011

Handmade Flowers with Art Philosophy

Mandy over at the Cupcake Craftroom sent me an email asking me to do a tutorial on how I make paper flowers. Well, I had to confess that I sort of cheat!! Cricut came out with a cartridge that is exclusive to Close To My Heart and they have 6 different flowers. Here is what I put together. I hope that you find it useful. If you happen to like the cartridge - please contact Debi Squires, my consultant to order your cartridge. It has 700 images all for the serious card maker!! I want to give a big shout out to Debi for taking the photos for me! Thanks Debi, you're the best.


I begin with cutting the flowers from my new Art Philosophy Cricut Cartridge (exclusive to Close To My Heart). However if you do not have a Cricut the flower on the top row on the left can be cut with a plain pair of scissors. To do this all you need is to cut the paper in a spiral manner.

The photo on the left are the cuts I made and the photo on the right are the flowers that I created. I used the beautiful “Charlotte” paper pack.


Step 1: I daubed the edge of the flower with vineyard berry to give the flower a more vintage look.
Step 2: I bent back the edges of the paper so that it will flare out. The larger the cut, the bigger the flare.
Step 3: I used a pair of tweezers to begin rolling the flower. When you roll you’ll roll so the pattern of the paper is the inside of the flower.
Step 4: Use your favorite glue to adhere it to the base of the flower. Hold down and allow the flower uncoil. I use my judgment on the coil based on how tight or loose I want the flower to look.


Step 1: For this flower I used the end of small paint brush to bend back each petal. There are two options with this particular flower. You can bend back each petal or when you’re done rolling the flower it can be smashed down to a beautiful flat flower vs. a larger 3D flower.
Step 2: I used the end of the paint brush to begin rolling - the smaller the tip the smaller the flower.
Step 3: You can also select to just hand roll the flower, it works just as well. The tightness or looseness of the flower depends on you.
Step 4: Again, use your favorite glue to adhere it to the base of the flower.

Sorry for no photos here…when I place the flower on the card I think about wanting it straight up or at some kind of diagonal. I generally use Glue Dots to adhere them down. Depending on the angle of the flower this is where I place the adhesive and I tuck it in and hold it down. There is also another product I used called Liquid Glass and I can put a big dollop on the card and place all the flowers together and it adheres quickly.

Making flowers are simple. When I made my first set of flowers I hated them!! Then I practiced and tried different ways of rolling, cutting, and gluing. Then this month Art Philosophy came out and now I have 6 more flowers to play with.

I hope you’ll give making flowers a try.
Theresa

Tuesday, August 16, 2011

Tuesday Morning Sketches #107

Two more days and my students will arrive with bright shining faces!! I am getting so excited to meet my new group of bright and talented children.

Today, we have a fabulous sketch and a great sponsor. Let's begin with the sketch. I tend to take my sketches very literally and this one leaves a lot to your imagination and creativity.  This week is not just a sketch challenge, but a judged challenge. If you want to be included in the judged challenge you need to follow the sketch and use the colors: blue, green, and white!! I loved visiting all of last weeks participant's blogs. There were so many amazing cards. I can't wait to see what you create with this week's sketch and color challenge.

I hope you'll visit our sponsor, Stamp Fairy. She has some great digi images. Her teddy bears are just darling.


I selected the cutest image for back to school - since that's what's on my brain right now!! I had a hard time keeping to the color challenge. I didn't want a blue or green bear, I wanted brown. Plus I just had to make the board black!! I kinda fought the challenge this week - but I was thankful that I found some combined green and blue paper with polka dots!! I was doing the happy dance because I wanted polka dots!!

TMS-#111

Isn't this just darling?? Thanks for stopping by. I hope you have the most awesome day!! 
Theresa

Sunday, August 14, 2011

Blueberries

I am pushing it again to enter my card into the Flourishes Timeless Tuesday #130. I swore that I would not let work take over and take presidence over of my crafting. What did I do?? I'm sorry and sad that I have made or posted a card until today. I really need to find that balance, but it's so hard.

This week their challenge is to Be Fruitful! I selected Berry Sweet from Flourishes. I love the set. I have never colored blueberries before. I'm not sure that I got the right color. I was at the grocery store and looked at the different brands. I think these are a little more purple than blue, but I do like the coloring.

Blueberries


The rules this week is that this card cannot be used for any other challenges. I hope it's okay that I used a sketch from Chupa's Sketchbook Saturday Challenge #24. I don't think her sketch is a challenge, she loves to create sketches and share them. If prizes are attached, I didn't see anything. I just used her sketch, but I won't post it to her challenge. Wanted to give credit where credit it due.

I hope that you like my card. Thanks for stopping by, have an awesome day!
Theresa
Recipe
Stamps: Flourishes (Berry Sweet)
Ink: Memento Tuxedo Black, PrismaColour Colored Pencils, Close To My Heart (Moonstruck)
Paper: DCWV (the dots, stripes & plaids), Close To My Heart (Magnifique); the circle DP (blog candy win)
Accessories: ribbon (blog candy win)

Tuesday, August 9, 2011

Tuesday Morning Sketches #106

It's another fabulous Tuesday Morning Sketches day. This week's sketch is fabulous!! Our sponsor is Chi Chi Memories.

I selected this darling little apple boy for my card. Since I am headed back to work (boo hoo) this week how could I resist not making an apple for the teacher?? I have totally loved my summer and I don't want it it end. Although, I will have to say I miss being with the kids and I can't wait to see them next week.


TMS-#110


I wish I had decided to make this card longer, because I really would have liked to make the embossed background larger. From this angle it just looks like swirls, but I used a numbers embossing folder and would have like to show that off a little more - oh well, next time.

I also decided I would take Marie's advice and enter my card into The Paper Players challenge #58 Theme Challenge: School Daze!! I'm glad she directed me to this blog. The DT have some awesome cards that have totally inspired me to create some welcome back cards.

Thanks for stopping by. I can't wait to see what you create. Have an awesome day!!
Theresa
Recipe:
Digi Image: Chi Chi Memories (Apple Costume)
Ink: PrismaColour Colored Pencils
Papers: October Afternoon (name unknown); Bazzill Basics (carob cream, lilly white, coconut swirl); SU (whisper white)
Accessories: twine (My Mind's Eye); photo hangers (Close To My Heart)

Sunday, August 7, 2011

It's All About the Paper

This is my first card for Cupcake Craftroom. I wanted it to basically be all about the paper, afterall Cupcake Craftroom is all about digi papers. This set of delicious papers is called Soft Whisper and there are some lovely pinks, blues, greens, and coffees. The challenge for August is "Soft and Sweet"! We would love to see anything with a sweet theme, sweet sentiment, sweet image, or 'sweet' theme and to match with softly coloured papers, soft ribbons, soft flowers.

I decided to make my card the sweet side of flowers. I used some of the solids and prints and cut the flowers from my Cricut machine and the new Art Philosophy cartridge. They were so easy to cut and roll. I added the beautiful butterfly from SU I tried to match one of the dark colors coming out of the gorgeous base pink paper. I think this came out very sweet!!

Soft-and-Sweet


Thanks for stopping by. I hope you'll take the time to see what the rest of the amazing DT came up with and check out Cupcake Creations.

Have an awesome day!
Theresa

Recipe:
Stamps: Stampin' Up (Strength & Hope); Close To My Heart (Hope)
Paper: Cupcake Craftroom (Soft Whisper)
Ink: Close to My Heart (Hollyhock)
Accessories: Close to My Heart (Art Philosophy Cricut cartridge); ribbon & pearls (stash)

Saturday, August 6, 2011

Exciting News!!

A quick post this morning. I am off to Canvas & Cocktails to paint some pink tulips!! I can't wait.

I have some EXCITING news!! I am just bursting at the seams. I was asked to become part of the design team over at Cupcake Craftroom. Yeah!! (I hope you can hear me screaming.) I want to say thanks to Mandy for the opportunity and I can't wait to work with such a talented group of ladies. I will have a card to post soon so stay tuned. The challenge this month is Soft and Sweet so be sure to check out the teams blogs (on the side bar) for some fabulous inspiration.
Theresa

Thursday, August 4, 2011

Favorite Flowers

This week at Flourishes Timeless Tuesday the challenge (#129) is to design a card around your favorite flower. This was hard for me because I love flowers. When I was in high school I worked in our family flower shop. I worked my way from drying flowers to making flower arrangements to doing all the wedding work. I love all the flowers.

If I really had to pick the "beer" pocket would pick daisies and the "champagne" taste would pick orchids. Since I only have Gerbera Daisies from Flourish (which is not the plain beautiful daisy I love) and I don't have the orchid stamp set - I decided to select a flower that I have loved coloring - zinnias!!

Zinnias


I am totally pleased with how this card came out. Rarely do I used red...so this was definitely a challenge for me. This paper is just too fabulous. I hope you like it! For the layout I used the fabulous sketch from The Deconstructed Sketch. I didn't get this completed in time for their challenge, but that's okay. I really liked the sketch.

I am also entering this card into The Dare to Get Dirty challenge by Lisa Henke & Jessie Knight Rone. These may be the only challenges I get to complete. Sorry, not allowed tell you what the challenges are all about. You need to be a Fan Club Member at Splitcoast Stampers.

Thanks for stopping by. Have an awesome day!!
Theresa
Recipe:
Stamps: Flourishes (Zinnias)
Ink: Memento Tuxedo Black; PrismaColour Colored Pencils
Paper: October Afternoon (Beach Chair); The Girls' Paperie (kitch); Bazzill Basics (lilly white & coconut swirl); Close to My Heart (tulip & black)
Accessories: Ribbon (stash); Close to My Heart (button); Jolee's Jewels (Swarovski Elements)

Wednesday, August 3, 2011

Daisies

This week over at CAS-ual Fridays their challenge is to make a 4x9 card! I've never made a card this big before. I have thought about this all week. Last night I had a dream about walking in a field of daisies. How could I resist making a card with daisies on it? Michele said that we have to embrace the white space and resist filling the entire card up.

I resisted and I love how this came out. Would love to make a slew of them, but at a more normal size!!

Daisies


Thanks for stopping by. I just love all your comments. Have an awesome day!!
Theresa
Recipe:
Stamps: There She Goes Clear Stamps (Bloom)
Paper: Bazzill Basics (lilly white & coconut swirl); DCWV (Blossom Song)
Ink: Memento Tuxedo Black; PrismaColour Colored Pencils
Accessories: ribbon (Really Reasonable Ribbon)

Tuesday, August 2, 2011

Tuesday Morning Sketches #105

It's going to be another hot day in Denver today! It's strange that the inside of your house is hotter than it is outside!!

It's another fabulous sketch day at Tuesday Morning Sketches. We have a great sponor this week:

We have a fabulous sketch today from out DT member Kathy Curry. It's a fun one and can be interpreted in many ways.

When I selected my image for the week I spent a lot of time in the digi shop. I fell in love with this little gal named Daisy. Isn't she just darling. I had to have her. She was a lot of fun to color. Although I wanted her hair blonde I just didn't know what Prisma colors to select. I certainly didn't want lemon yellow. So I settled on beautiful brown with red highlights.

TMS-#109


I hope you like my card. I do hope that you'll play along with us this week.
Theresa

Monday, August 1, 2011

Flourishes Timeless Tuesday

I am once again getting this in just under the wire! This past week's Timeless Tuesday Challenge #128 is Christmas in July. I am not much for Christmas in July, but I am loving coloring the Flourishes stamp sets. I settled on these gorgeous raspberries for my submission.

I think they came out gorgeous. I think I managed to photograph them so that you can see the holographic glitter that I used. Instead of covering the entire raspberry with glue I used small dots of glue in each of the small sections of the berry. I think they look delish!!

Noel


Thanks for stopping by. All of your comments have meant the world to me. I appreciate you. Have an awesome day!! 
Theresa

Recipe:
Images: Flourishes (Berry Sweet), There She Goes (Seasons Greetings - sentiment)
Ink: Memento Tuxedo Black; PrismaColour Colored Pencils
Paper: Bazzill Basics (white, cotton swirl & olive); Close to My Heart (Mistletoe & Perfect Day)
Accessories: Ribbon (stash)