Birthday Penguin

Sadly my cards have been few and far between this month. It may not get much better in May. We'll see if my mojo returns at some point. I needed a birthday card for my beautiful DIL, who we are flying to Boston to see tomorrow morning (along with my two sons and a second DIL). She loves penguins but rather than do a traditional penguin I thought she'd like this "spring penguin" with her bright colors.

Image and Designer Paper from Little Scraps of Heaven called Spring Penguin

Dies: Spellbinder's ATC Card dies (image); MFT Happy Birthday Circle (sentiment rings); Paper Smooches Paw Print (little heart on penguin)

Black card stock and Wink of Stella on heart and flower in image.

I am entering these challenges:

• Tuesday Morning Sketch: 500th sketch 
  
• Simon Says Stamps Wednesday: anything goes
• Seize the Birthday: texture
• Through the Craft Room Door: anything goes
• Pile It On: lots of layers
• 2 Crafty Critter Crazies: use a critter

Thanks for stopping by my blog and hanging with me even though I haven't posted much lately. I am headed to bed to get up at 2:30 a.m. for a 5:20 a.m. flight to Boston. Hope you have a crafty weekend!

Donna

Space Exploration with the Dueling Darlings

Happy Monday and welcome to a new edition of the Dueling Darlings monthly show. This month Terry (for the Dazzlers) and LJ (for the Divas) chose the theme and sent out kits for an outer space theme. Terry sent my wonderful kit using the My Favorite Things Space Explorer stamp and coordinating dies. I also have this set so I was able to use it to supplement a few things on my cards. Here's what Terry sent: All images are stamped in Memento Tuxedo Black ink on Neenah Solar Crest white and Gina K base weight white (for die cut images). DSP: MME Blastoff, Echo Park Lost in Space, Photoplay Infinity & Beyond, Photoplay Intergalactic. Embellishments: Hampton Art action wobble, Recollections star brads, Recollections bling, Darice baker's twine, Kaisercraft wooden pieces. There was so much in this kit I could probably do half a dozen cards. I made two to showcase.

For this first card I used this week's My Favorite Things Sketch challenge for additional inspiration.

I used one of the double-sided designer papers for the strips and the banner die cuts are from MFT too. Everything is colored with Spectrum Noir markers including the wooden pieces that I used for embellishments.

For my second card I decided I had to use the action wobble, so this is where I made an extra die cut of this image and fussy cut just the little guy to wobble. The background paper is another of the designer papers included and I used the same paper from the first card for the MFT Double Scallop border. You can also see some of the other fun golden embellishments that were included in the kit. I used a while gel pen for embellishment on the balloons. Here's the inside of this card:

I mimicked the front of the card but used a different sentiment. I also stamped and die cut another rocket for the inside.

I am entering these challenges:

• Sketch Saturday: sketch 
  
• Seize the Birthday: anything goes
• The Outlawz Festive Friday: birthday
• Time Out Challenge: embellishments 
  

I want to thank Terry and LJ for such a fun theme and especially Terry for the wonderful kit! This was such fun. Check out all the darlings' cards by following the links on the right to see the other fun space cards. Hope everyone has a wonderful week!

Donna

What's Cookin'?

It's been quite a while since I posted a creative project. I've been in a slump creating anything recently. I have lost my motivation for a lot of things recently. It took me three days to make this card. I can't explain why but at least I got it done before the deadline.

The image is from Limited Runs and is their progressive image for this month called BBQ Cook. The red and white paper I believe is from Imagine That Designs by Kris.  The blue striped paper was from a Simon Says kit. The sentiment is from a free digital sentiment page from Whimsy Stamps. The dies I used include: MFT Blueprints 13 (stars), MFT Mini Tabs 4 (sentiment), and MFT Pierced Fishtail Flags. The base and layering is black card stock. I am entering these challenges:

• Atlantic Hearts Sketch: 
  
• Addicted to Stamps and More: anything goes 
  
• Tuesday Throwdown: anything goes
• Through the Craft Room Door: anything goes
• Lil Patch of Crafty Friends: anything goes

Thanks for stopping in and hanging in there with me. I'll have another card soon as dueling day is coming up with the Dueling Darlings. Have a super weekend. 

Donna

No Foolin', It's Christmas

At least a Christmas card today. April 1st brings around a new challenge at 12 Months of Christmas Link Up. Our challenge is always anything goes but we love to have a twist if you really want the challenge. This month the twist is fairies. Our sponsor is A Day for Daisies, who kindly provided the design team with an image to work with.

I used the Frosty Snowflake Fairy on my card. The background paper is from Decosse's Dynamite Doodles Frosty Swirls The Pastel Collection. My card stock is two different colors of purple. The sentiment is from the Little Paper Shop (no longer in business). I grabbed some gold ribbon from my stash and used gold glitter glue on the snowflakes in the image. The image is colored with PrismaColor pencils and mineral spirits. I hope you will join us this month and get started on your Christmas cards a little early. Pop over to the main blog to read all about the challenge.

I am entering these challenges:

• Crafty Hazelnut Christmas: anything goes
• A Bit More Time to Craft: anything goes
• Through the Craft Room Door: anything goes
• Christmas Crafts All Year Round: for family and friends
• The Outlawz Festive Friday: Christmas

That's it for me today. My eyes are slowly recovering. I went for a check up this morning and he said they would improve over the next month or so. But making this card was difficult in the coloring. So I may take a little more time to ease back into it. Thanks for stopping by. Have a wonderful week!