Bloggers Challenge- Color Challenge

I am late again for the Bloggers Challenge- but I wanted to make a card. Our Colors this week are Red, Yellow and Green……….  I used fall shades of the colors and had started a card, but then ran across a digital image tonight that I thought was just perfect for my colors.  (The designer, Kayla,  is young and is just starting to sell digi’s- and I bought 2 images for $2.88 which I like even better)!

  I used Copic markers to color the image R24, R27, Y08, YG17 and YG63 plus E35 , E37 and E39. Sentiment  and cardstock are by SU.  (Retired Summer Sun, Old Olive (Nestability scallop) and Red Riding Hood).

Here is a close-up of the image and coloring:

This is a pretty CAS card for me- and no technique either…

To see the other Bloggers Challenge cards, HERE is the link.

Challenges for this card:

Stamping for the Weekend- Anything goes

Bee Crafty-Anything goes
Our Daily Bread Challenge-Texture it
Paper Players-Anything goes

Thanks for stopping by- it is going to be 90 again tomorrow in the Chicagoland area and humid…..
What is it like where you are?
Shelly

Blog Candy winner

I used Random.org to choose my Blog Candy winner:

#16 would be KC_Froglady

Congrats Karyn- I will get the stamps in the mail tomorrow!

Thanks to everyone that commented!

 Shelly

Tutorial- Sewing on Cards

Sewing on cards
Here is some basic information to consider regarding sewing on cards.
1) Tools to use.
  The first tool would be your sewing machine.  Just like all of the embossing machines on the market- different process-same results for the most part.  What type of machine are you working with?  Industrial sewing machines are more ‘open’ and are made to sew any fabrics and do tough sewing jobs.  Electronic or Computerized Sewing machines are made to deliver precise and detailed coverage of thread to fabric. Older sewing machines fall somewhere in the middle with settings to vary for different types of fabrics. 
*Get out your owners manual and read it!  Knowing your machine is vital to successfully sewing on any project*.
Next, consider there are many types of threads. From fine heirloom sewing threads to rayon to cotton to polyester threads- they all have different personalities- like your ink pads.  Cheap thread is just that- it can have poor fiber quality and can break easily……  I do not recommend it.  The high end is the Sulky embroidery thread- it is shiney in appearance and also comes in metallic colors.   (Great for soldier cards to add glitz without glitter). I compare this thread to Copics on the machine- smooth and shiney- but not cheap…..  Middle of the line threads that works just great are Coats and Clark and Guetermann. You would not use featherweight or fine thread on paper, unless it is delicate- maybe vellum. 

*Use the same thread in the bobbin that you use on the top-very important- this will affect your tension alot*

Needles-come in varying sizes as well- the sizes refer to the hole in the needle- if you use fine thread, you want a needle with a smaller hole. Likewise, if you use a thicker thread you would use a needle with a larger hole. The larger the number, the bigger the needle – and the larger the hole it will pierce in the paper.
There are also different tips on needles- fine needles are used on fabrics like silk where you do not want to fabric to ‘run’, so when you shop you will see words like ball point or stretch needles.  You just need a regular size 12 or 14 needle for sewing on regular cardstock.

*Always have designated needles for cardstock- you will dull the needle and do not want to sew fabric with it*
Tension- know your machine!  My electronic machine sets the tension for me…..I can still have problems.  Angelnorth on SCS posted this info about tension on a sewing machine- here is a link . Take a look at the pictures- it will tell you if your tension is set properly or not. 
Other thoughts to consider:
-Never, never sew over tape or glue or needles or pins.
-Starting out, gently hold the thread ends so they do not get into a tangled mess under the cardstock.

 Do not pull the thread or the cardstock when you are sewing-gently guide the paper barely touching it just to keep the cardstock going into the machine straight.
-Center your body in front of the needle and keep your eye on where it is stitching. If you start out at 1/4 inch from the edge, either use the lines to the side of your needle, or you can tape a coffee stirrer at the edge of your card on the sewing machine base- this will keep the sewing straight.

-When you get to the end of a row- use the needle down to turn, pivot,  and start again.

Here is a photo of the nice clean corner:

Make a sample card of your stitches noting stitch lengths for future reference:

Once you are done with your stitching- you will have 'loose ends'.  If you cut them, they will unravel.....  I take a needle, thread the end and go through from the top to the bottom via one of the stitch 'holes' made while sewing.  Then, you can tie the ends in the back and secure with adhesive to attach to your card.
More FYI's
-Clean out the bobbin area- get the lint out- my machine tension always acts up when there is any lint there- never blow canned air into the machine.......
Rethread if you have a problem....Rethread if you have a problem......Rethread.......! It is like rebooting your computer!
*Once you get the tension correct, make samples and write on your cardstock the length or width settings- make the samples using straight stitch and zig zag.......*  This is great if you are visual like me! 
-Practice sewing S's and circles- a circle is a straight line...curved..... take a stitch and use needle down to make subtle adjustments- remember to watch the needle when stitching!
- I do not think any sewing machine manufacturers would ever recommend sewing on cardstock- the little holes that are punched out by the needle can get into the bottom and mess up a machine (they do go somewhere....). That said- I have an embroidery machine and I sew cards on it all of the time- just remember do not blow air in to get gunk out (like canned air)...I have an attachment for my vacuum that sucks out the lint- or the machine usually comes with a brush....If you think about it, it is forcibly blowing the lint somewhere....into the motor and all of your machine- you do not want lint in the machine- you want to get it out of the machine.......it will 'gunk up' the insides of the machine......... so you would either use a brush to try to loosen it up and remove it manually, or suck it out with a little sewing machine attachment..... especially if it is a computerized/embroidery machine- call your local reputable dealer -see if they have a recommendation.
*Troubleshooting- the first two steps are always: Reboot if you have an electronic machine and Rethread.

I sure hope this helps you and gives you basic information regarding the tools you need to sew on cards.

Here are a couple of samples of cards I have made with sewing on them:

Images Firecracker Designs by Pamela

Sentiment by Doodle Pantry and a rub-on

Shelly Schmidt

Blog Candy

My son left for college Sunday and I let him take my ‘old’ printer….I had to buy a new one a few months ago…so…I needed to use my scanner today and yikes- the color is really off- too bright.  I have been fiddling with it all day and no luck…so….no card, so I thought I’d post some Candy:

 

It is a bit fuzzy in the scan…..I loved this set so purchased a few of them- this is the last one to give away- I also found these $1.00 stamps that I thought were so pretty- I have yet to use mine….I love flowers!

  I will use random.org to pick a winner Sunday after dinner, and will get them in the mail Monday when I hear from the winner.  Just leave a comment to have a chance to win.

Thanks for stopping by!

Shelly

Firecracker Designs by Pamela Blog Hop! Use Inspiration from a book cover………

Welcome to the Firecracker Designs by Pamela Blog Hop for August!  We are finding ‘Inspiration’ from a book cover….Is a magazine a book?…..I think so!  My Mother just gave me a stack of Watercolor Magic magazines- oh my!  I am drooling over them, and could not pass up the chance to watercolor.

I used a technique called Marker Watercoloring and went to work using Lady’s Slipper by FCD. This is a digital image collection of orchids and sentiments. I googled images of Lady’s Slippers on the internet and went to town. I used a strange group of SU markers together, but am happy with my results….. I used Ruby Red, Yo Yo Yellow, Green Galore and Marv. Magenta. I used vellum in the Cuttlebug and lightly sponged Ruby Red on the embossed areas for highlights. The vellum is mounted over white cardstock.

This is a circular blog hop- so you go around in a circle, and once you arrive back to where you began, you are finished!  If you choose to leave a comment at each stop, you will be entered to WIN a stamp set or a selection of digital images from FCD. The winner will be announced Monday on Pamela’s FCD Blog.
Your next stop is Chris aka ChrissyD

I played in a couple of challenges:
Mark's Finer Papers-Think Flowers
Everybody Art-In the Garden
Fab n Funky- Flower Power
Digi Doodle-Anything Goes

Thanks so much for stopping by- hope you enjoy the Hop!
Shelly

Creative Inspirations-Summer Inspiration

The Creative Inspirations Paint challenge for today (for Design Team A) is a Summer theme.  The house I grew up in had a river in the back yard- the mighty Kankakee River!  We would spend our days fishing, wading in the river and catching dragonflies….such great memories!    Here is the card I created:
 
Here is a close up of the glimmer:

I used the Play Date Cafe colors for their challenge on my card:

** If you play along with the challenge at The Play Date Cafe this time around, you can WIN some of these fantastic Creative Inspirations Paints! 
  I used Copics G000, G5, and B02 for my dragonfly. I used CI paints Evergreen, Sky Blue and Turquoise and my Aqua painter.  I took a dab of the Sky Blue and mixed it with a few drop of H20-making a very thin and dilute color, and did a color wash around the image all of the way to the edge past the letters.
Stamp is retired SU
  For the BG, I added a Turquoise CI paint to a Mini Mister with H20 making the color nice and ‘deep’, and spritzed the paint mixture over a piece of lace.
To see what the other DT members created, go to the Creative Inspirations Blog HERE. Also, check the CI blog for the winner of the CI Blog Hop Candy- Good Luck!
If you have CI paints, we want to see what you are creating- please link your card/project to the CI blog- look up on the right at the top.
Other challenges:
Character Cafe-bright and sparkly
Totally Gorjuss-aqua-color or water
Crafty Pad-Glitz and glitter
Paper, Scissors, Rocks-Green and Blue
My time to craft-Glitz and Glitter
ABC-B is for Blue

  I am a very visual paper crafter- I am always making charts to match up papers and inks.  Here are pictures of (some of) my charts:

The Copics charts are ATC sized (3 1/2” x 2 1/2”)- I keep them with my markers in their cases- portable so I can hold it next to the project I am working on to try and choose the best color.
The Ranger Distress Ink swatches- I brayered on the ink to a small piece of cardstock.
The CI paints- I painted on the cardstock strips in color families.
The SU cardstock is on a ring and I keep all of the current and retired colors, plus in-colors on the ring.

This is the Copic storage- I slide the ATC sized color swatches right into the plastic of the case where I can easily remove it when needed. I have the CI swatches by color ‘families’ as well. Below is a closer view.
  
Thanks for stopping by today- This weekend, stop by for a FCS Blog Hop!
Shelly

Creative Belli-Sketch plus Metal

The Creative Belli Blog has challenged us to use Metal on our cards plus there is an OPTIONAL round sketch:

The Belli challenge is all about using your old/neglected embellishments on your cards.  You can see the DT sample cards by clicking on the Belli Link- the challenge is for two weeks- we’d love to have you join in!
I found some metal embellishments I purchased 5+ years ago when I was making a paper bag book….and, I used DSP from last years ‘stack’ from Joann’s……

I colored the D2D image and the metal tag with Copic Markers. This is the first time (in my memory) making a circle card.
I also made a CAS card with the D2D image:

I colored the image with Copics and did faux stitching on the sentiment (first time for that as well).  I paper pierced in the main image panel.  The DSP is from the same ‘stack’ from Joann.
Other challenges:
Double Delight-D2D digi and CAS
Stars and Stamps-Fall card and no sentiment
Hand Full of Stamps-November inspired
I did it-anything goes
Just Add Ink-wheels/circular
Sew Many Cards-Stitching-faux
2 Sisters-stitching-faux
All sorts-Paper Piercing
Pollycraft-In Stitches

Thanks for stopping by today!
If you are interested in playing in some challenges, there are a couple of great links :
Feline Playful has a handful of challenges posted stating what the challenges are (love this!)
The Daily Dare- look here daily for the sites that offer challenges to participate in.
I’ll be back Thursday with a FCD Blog Hop! 
Shelly

Creative Inspirations Special Edition Paints-Blog Hop

   Creative Inspirations Paint is Celebrating their One Year Anniversary!  Molly (CI owner) has just released a special edition set of four paints. The colors are: Ivory, Beige, Burgundy and Denium. These four paints will be available as a set  and individually now through the end of this year- at which time they will be retired.
To Celebrate- we are having a Blog Hop! It is our very first hop as a Design Team- I hope you will join in the fun!  The Hop begins at the Creative Inspirations Blog. I am the second stop- so glad to see you!
Here is the card I made for the celebration:

and a close-up of the glimmer:

 The Ivory and Beige are sponged onto white cardstock in addition to Creamy Carmel SU ink. The image is colored with CI paints- special edition colors plus Emerald Green mixed with Sage. The Brads were colored with Burgundy paint. The ribbon was white and was painted with Beige paint.I sponged a light touch of Denium around the edges of the card stock, and to finish off the card, I popped up the bird and the flowers.  I am loving how well the Burgundy coordinates with the SU Rich Razzleberry DSP.
Stamps are SU Spring Song.
 The Blog Hop runs through Wednesday at 12 midnight. You will need to pick up a clue on each stop along the way to answer a question back at the Creative Inspirations Paint Blog when you are finished hopping.  My Clue is B.

The winner will be announce Thursday on the CI blog.  Here is a picture of the prize:

Good Luck to you!
 Your next stop is Clare’s Blog.

I am entering this card in the Gingersnap Paint challenge.

Thanks so much for stopping by today!
Shelly

Fun with ATC's-Asian Theme

 Asian stamps are one of my very favorite- so just HAD to make an ATC for the Fun with ATC’s challenge that is every other Tuesday.

Here is a close of of the glimmer:

 I stamped this sweet image from Great impressions and masked it to have three girls in a row. I colored the images with Copic Markers, and used a Technique Junkies technique called Marker Dragging. I also added a technique called Level Up which adds a cool look to the ATC. I painted the darker background stripes with Creative Inspiration Paint Fairy Dust paint. (BG is BV0000 and BV00) .

 I hope you can stop by on Sunday- we are having our Very first Creative Inspiration Paints Blog Hop!

Shelly

Bloggers Challenge-Birthday

This week, our Challenge Mom-Lisa- challenged us to a Birthday card.  I am away from my craft room this weekend, with a few supplies I grabbed before I left…I put together this card:

Here is a close-up

This was really hard to photograph!  I used Pale Plum cardstock, a piece of Polished Stone using Pale Plum and Plum and Faux Metal with a topping of Glimmer Mist Watercolor (from the Technique Junkies newsletter). The two purple layers have silver metallic ink sponged around the edges- it just does not show up well here at all.  There is also Pearl Glimmer Mist sprayed on the BG Plum CS.
Stamps-SU Dream Gardens and Happy Moments
I am visiting my parents this weekend- my Mother is a true artist- she teaches Porcelain painting and is active in a couple of guilds.  Here are some samples of her current projects:
A Vase

And a plate with guilded gold

and a picture on porcelain

When she asks us what we want for Christmas, what do you think I ask for…..?   Yep…I want it all!
To see what Birthday projects the rest of the Bloggers Challenge Players have created, click HERE.
Thanks for stopping by today and have a Blessed weekend!
Shelly

D2D Teddy for Baby

The darling teddy by D2D (Designed2Delight) this week is FREE and if you post a card using this digi, you get another freebie for next week.  I have been playing along since December- I have only missed one week so far- I am hooked!  LOL
I need a baby card for my husband’s nephew, so I made two- one neutral to have on hand and a blue one for the new great-nephew!

The card below is for the Challenge blog for D2D- Double Delights-this week there is a sketch challenge.

Here is a close up of the sweet teddy- I used a technique taught to us by Sally McDonald at the Copic Certification class- I took an old rag and put a drop of colorless blender on it, and dabbed it on the teddy- it gives the fur a textured appearance.

DSP is by Debbie Mumm
Image was colored with Copic markers.
Challenges:
Fairy Fun Friday-Frame your image in a circle
Crafty Catz- button and bows
Ooh La la-Spots and Dots
Penny’s Paper Crafty-Anything goes
Fab n Funky- Use your favorite colors (pink and Blue!)

Can you believe no Technique Junkies technique on this card???

I am off to Cincinnati/No. Kentucky to visit my parents tomorrow- I hope to stop by the big Stamping Expo there- not to take any classes though. 
Have a great weekend filled with many blessings!
Shelly

FCD Wacky Wednesday-the last one

Today is the very last Wacky Wednesday at FCD. The set that is 50% off is Horses of Courses- regularly priced at $12.99 it is only $6.49 for all of the stamps you see here from 12:00MN (Wednesday) until 11:59PM tonight. 

Here is the link for the Horses of Courses Gallery

This is an amazing set of stamps for the price-one of my favorite stamp sets by FCD!
Shelly

ATC’s with a bug theme………

My Saturday ATC group exchange involved a bug theme this month- any bug you wanted to create with.  I am guessing the butterfly is the #1 choice of ‘bugs’……… Here is my ATC

Background Pop by the Technique Junkies
Stamps FCD and smARTworks
About 1/2 of the ATc creators make all of the same design (like me), and the other half make them all different…….  Here are the ATC’s I exchanged for:

Harriet-Joy butterfly
Diane S-Butterfly postage stamps


Debbie-butterflies punched from magazine designs
Mari-Oh, Oh, Oh… She’s a Lady.  Ladybug
Diane M- embossed spider and web


Cindy K- Bee’s
Mary Warner-Ladybug-hand drawn
Marcella-bee’s

Melissa-butterfly
Susan-dragonfly
Melissa-brown bag exchange-butterfly with glitter

*We arrived home from Ohio last night – a fun family time vacation!  Today, I stamped my ATC’s (made a few for the Technique Junkies too….)  and went to the exchange and then went to dinner with friends.

I will be visiting blogs tomorrow- thanks to everyone that has stopped by while I was away and for all of the kind comments you leave on my blog- I appreciate it!
Have a great weekend- stay cool!
Shelly

Creative Inspirations Paint-Birthday Party Favors

Creative Inspirations Paints challenged the Design Team A to create Birthday Party
Favors. Creative Inspirations is ONE YEAR OLD!  Congrats Molly! Well, my little niece Dori is having her 8th Birthday soon, so I created some goodie bags and candles for the table decoration.
 
The Candle was made by stamping the cupcake (Firecracker Designs by Pamela) on white tissue paper with Black Tuxedo Memento ink. I colored the cupcakes with Copic markers, then painted over the top with Creative Inspirations Paint. Then, I trimmed around the cupcakes placed the tissue paper on the candle where I wanted them.  I wrapped wax paper over the top of the tissue paper and candle, and heated it up with a heat gun.  The acrylic treat boxes are from Denami Designs.

A close up of the Creative Inspirations Paints-see the sparkle??? Yum!!!
HERE is the link to the card that coordinates with the favors.
See all of the Design Team postings HERE on the Creative Inspirations blog- please use Mr Linky to post your project made with CI paints- we’d love to see what you are making with them!!!

We will be having our first Blog Hop soon- I hope you will sign up to 'Follow" over at the CI paint Blog and watch for a big 'REVEAL' on our hop!!!

Challenges:
Cute Card Thursday-Anything goes
Your Next Stamp-Birthday
My Time to craft-Cake

Thanks for stopping by today!
Shelly

Creative Belli Challenge-Paint

Scroll down for today's Wacky Wednesday FCD post

The Creative Belli Challenge this week is Paint. Create a project with your ‘unused’ or neglected supplies.
For my project, I took out an ancient bottle of Silver Metallic acrylic paint…..I had to throw out a bottle or two before I found one that was still usable……  Anyway I made a background using ‘Faux Metal’ technique by the Technique Junkies.
  
I embossed the panel with the Cuttlebug folder with numbers, and used the other silver metallic sheet I used under the striped panel. The DSP is retired SU.
This is the MoJo Monday Sketch for this week and it is a card for my niece Dori’s 8th Birthday (only girl with 4 older brothers…..and she is all girl/pink/princess too!).
The stamps are from Firecracker Designs by Pamela. I used Copic markers and Creative Inspirations Paint on the Cupcake.

To see the Belli DT samples for paint- click on the Creative Belli link above and click on their names above their samples!

Other Challenges:
Stampin B’s- Birthday Card
Ooh La La- Birthday
Pink Elephant-something Yummy
My Time to Craft-Cake
Caardvarks-Birthday
Part Time Tuesday- Summer Birthday
Thanks for stopping by today
Please stop by tomorrow for more ‘stuff’ for this Birthday Celebration made with Creative Inspirations Paints.
Shelly

Wacky Wednesday at FCD

We are almost to the end stretch of the Wacky Wednesday Posts. Our Wacky set this Wednesday is Tumbling Scarecrow

This is such a delightful set- and it is 50% off from 12:01Am until 11:59 Wednesday night- no coupon is needed.
Here is a card done by our very talented Michelle B, HERE are three cards done by Hetty,  and HERE is a link to the FCD gallery with more samples of this set.
Shelly

D2D meets Ice Crystals

I played around a little tonight with Ice Crystals- a new Technique Junkies newsletter has just hit the mailbox…..  So, I made my weekly D2D (Designed2Delight) card.  This Friday’s image is a freebie- if you play along and post a card with the image, you get a free image for the next week. 

The Ice Crystals most match Soft Sky/Baja Breeze and I wanted to have holly in the DSP, so I added a touch of Soft Sky to the DSP with a dauber. I washed lightly over the snowman with Soft Sky. I colored over the red heart with Creative Inspirations paint- and added a touch for the shadow under the snowman. The Ice Crystals are the mat under the snowman panel, the snowman and the middle panel punched with a Martha Stewart punch.  Here is a closer look:

Challenges:
D2D- image
AI Factory-Christmas in July
Stamp Something-Christmas in July
Stamp Challenges-Christmas in July
Our Creative Corner-Christmas in July
Paper Sundays-Stitching
Sentimental Sundays-Switch it up- new technique
Thanks for stopping by!
Shelly

Blog Candy Winner

Blog Candy goes to

 # 12 Sequin

Please send me your mailing address so I can send you the package.
Congrats!
Thanks to everyone who stopped by.
Shelly