Bombshell Monthly Sketch - February!!

Greetings and Happy Sunday everyone!!! It's the LAST day of the month (I cannot believe March is TOMORROW!) - where does the time go??

I've been having SO much fun following the Bombshell Gals this month so I decided to participate in their sketch challenge for February!! Below you will find the sketch that was posted. Since I came into this sketch post-Valentine's day - I used the sketch in an entirely different manner.
I started by choosing my stamps. I chose2 stamps from the Man's Ruin set; the super cool skull and the sentiment 'Heartbreaker'.

I started with a Mango-ish card base from The Paper Source - edge distressed. The next layer is from a Mat Stack and I heavily distressed the edges as well. You will notice that I've also chosen a wavy stitch on my sewing machine and created a border with red thread. I added 3 heart brads to the top left corner. I created the scallop middle layer with more DP from the same Mat Stack and using my SU! slit punch (the little half moon looking one) I cut out 2 strips of scalloping and adhered them together. I used wide navy blue grosgrain ribbon to add dimension and a touch of softness to the card. I tied some linen twine around my bow to 'scratch' it up a bit ;).

I then chose a scrap of white cardstock that I scored, folded, hand drew a simple heart and cut it out with my super vintage (my hubby's step-grandmother's) pinking shears. I ran it through my sewing machine a few times on a very wide zig zag stitch, purposefully leaving all of the loose and frayed ends showing. I then ran my black and red ink pads all over it in no particular fashion, coated it all with clear embossing powder and heat set it. I LOVE how it came out...bit of a bleeding heart look, no? ;)
I stamped the skull in Versamark Dazzle and coated it in copper embossing powder and heat set it. I then carefully colored the skull in with my Copics and white paint pen. I then took my Versamark pen and colored certain areas on the flower and skull, coated with clear embossing powder and heat set again. I then carefully trimmed it out and added it to my heart with foam adhesive dots.
The sentiment Heartbreaker is stamped in simple SU! Basic Black ink on grey cardstock, coated with clear embossing powder and heat set. I backed it with a scrap of paper from the scallop border. I then did some distress stitching on the left hand side of the sentiment panel for some added dimension.

I LOVE this sketch, I loved playing along and I hope you enjoyed my creation!!

Happy almost March!!

XOXO

Robyn's Fetish Week

BLOG CANDY DOWN BELOW!! KEEP READING!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! =)

Now back to your regularly scheduled programming....

Hi Everyone!! Welcome to another amazing week of designs from the Robyn's Fetish Team!! Today's challenge was a Sketch Challenge for a Scrapbook Layout!! After all, the entire point of a challenge is to make it CHALLENGING, right? ;)

Here's the sketch that we worked with:
And here is my creation!!

I took 2 pictures of my children, and since EVERYTHING we have is Digital (double if not TRIPLE backed up) and I didn't have any photo paper, however, I just used really good cardstock and the photos printed out just fine!
When using sketches I generally follow pretty closely to the guidelines. I'm trying to let myself break out of that "proverbial shell" that a sketch does impose however sketches are such a great jumping off point that they are a must for any crafter! So that's always the challenging part for me with sketches.

But...I digress. I chose 2 photos of my children, which were taken during our first day of demolition when our home reno started a few weeks ago. We were hunkered down in my office crafting. As this is the place in my home that soothes me the most. =)
I started with a basic piece of ivory cardstock measuring 6" x 12". I printed and matted my photos. Along with the journaling piece that I wanted to add. As you can see I lightly ran over the entire layout with my black ink pad to distress it a bit. I stitched the background entirely as well as around each panel.
I kept it relatively plain and simple as I did not want to overshadow the photos. I used Robyn's Patchy Flower pot for the flower image between panels 1 and 2 and I cut out a heart shaped "leaf" from Robyn's Valentine Tree and placed it between panels 2 and 3. The other embellishments; green photo corner, blue arrow and certified sticker are all from an old SU' Simply Scrappin' kit. The blue and white polka dotted, scalloped border is also a die cut sticker that I had in my stash from Imaginescence.
It's already hanging on my studio wall! I found this so much fun!!

I hope you do too!!

Please play along!! Here are the details!!!

Happy Weekend Everyone!!!

XOXO-

Tempting Lorali Thursday Featuring....The Envelope Please!??!!?!?

Happy Tempting Lorali Thursday Everyone!!! First and foremost...you MUST MUST MUST see what's new at the shoppe! It's AMAZING! The Queen has been working tirelessly as has our fantastic DT to create, create, and create some more for you!!

NEW STAMPS TODAY!!
Buy all 7 new releases for $25
Buy all 12 of the new Tim Holtz Distress Inks for $39

Ok so back to our creation today!! I started feeling bad for, of all things, the envelopes that RARELY get used for our creations!!! C'mon...admit it...you rarely mail these because we ALL hoarde them!! You know it's true!! Ok, well it's true for me anyways!!

So I decided to do a REALLY simple card (which is hard for me) and really spice up the envelope. Because honestly, that IS the first thing you see in the mailbox before you even open the card. So you ALREADY have a smile on your face upon seeing the envelope. And I'm sure your postal carrier would be equally smiley at this pretty image on the beautiful Paper Source envelope!!

I stamped Evangeline directly to the envelope. It was difficult for me not to embellish, pop up or glitter up anything having the mindset that unless it's hand canceled at the post office the possibility of it getting mangled is pretty high.
I stamped her in SU! Basic Grey ink, colored her with my Copics and Sakura pens. I kept my coloring to mostly subdued hues of grey, champagne, beige and taupe with a pop of silver from my silver paint pen and "vixeny" red lips.
Since I couldn't add any raised embellishments, I decided to attack her tail and fins with my nail file and exacto knife. I love the texture that it created!
Moving onto the simple card. It measures 8.5" x 5.5". My ivory card base was added to with a pretty, soft grey stock whose edges I mangled on purpose with my Tim Holtz edge distressor. I also added some old SU! rub ons and then ran my nail file over them for a weathered look.
For the top of the card I used one of our most recent releases Love Never Goes Out of Style. It was the WIS subscription for February! Such a great get!! If you could get one!! However, the March set is out so I'd RUN and grab one asap!!!

I used the heart as the focal point. Stamped in PTI's Water Lily Green (perfect match ribbon is the same color). I punched it out with my 1- 3/4" circle punch and popped up on foam adhesive dots. The sand dollar is from the super versatile Fairie Tales Stamp Set. I glittered up the arrow and the feathers on the back with my Quickie Glue Pen and my Black Doodlebug glitter. I also ran my Copic Multiliner pen 0.5 over the word Love so it would pop a little more.
I tied the perfect match ribbon and cut the ends a little fancier than normal. I then decided to pleat them using black staples. Just tryin' to shake things up a bit ;)

Lastly, I grabbed my lipstick and smooched the back of the enve!! (yes...that is my kiss-print!) I love how the bright red looks against the cool blue of the enve.

Man, between Evangeline and I that enve got lots o' love!

I hope you enjoyed my creation today.

See you next Tempting Thursday! ;)

XOXO-
Meredith

Bombshell Blog Hop!!

Hello!! I am SO beyond honored to be here today playing along with the AMAZING Bombshell Ladies for their monthly hop!!

The 'theme' for this month's hop is the following:

"Mama Said Knock You Out!

No physical violence here, just time to dust off your PUNCHES and use your NESTIES (QuicKutz, Sizzix, Big Shot etc.) to create your next Bombshell Masterpiece! We all have some fun punches and cutting shapes lying around, so why not use these valuable items and get our money's worth? All you have to do, is make sure something on your card has been punched or die cut....extra credit if there's a hole in your card. *giggle Don't make Mama mad....just start knockin' things out."

You should have arrived here from Stempelientje's blog.

There is a full list of hop participants at the bottom of this post in case you get lost!!!

So...I set to work!!!
I chose my card base (6" x 6") first which is from Martha Stewart's cardstock line - the color is called Nasturtium. It's a hot orangy-pink. I then selected my 1- 3/4 circle punch and popped a hole in the front of the card.
For those of you who don't know me, I made what I call a New Year's "agreement" with myself and that is to head to my scrap bins and drawers BEFORE creating anything to see if there are pieces I can use up before cutting into a brand new slice of gorgeous paper. So...that said...everything shown here except the white cardstock (I always like to use fresh white stock to really focus on the image), the card base and the ribbon is from my scrap drawer!!
So...back to the hole in my card. I punched the hole and then took the same punch and punched a decorative backing in taupe and orange to nestle right inside my card so that when the card is closed it 'almost' looks as though it's on the front of the card. I then took my 1- 1/2" circle punch and popped a white circle out. On it I stamped the word Bombshell and the decorative flower from the Bombshell Angel set. Both images are stamped in SU! Basic Black ink and the flower is colored with my Copics.

I then set that all aside to work on my main image. I chose the stunning beauty from the Girls Ruin set. I inked her in SU! Basic Black ink, coated her with clear embossing powder immediately and heat set her. I love this simple technique as I adore how glossy and shiny her hair looks!!!
I very carefully colored her with my Copics and Sakura gel pens. I then coated the entire upper of the super sexy stiletto Mary Jane shoe with my glue pen and covered it in my black Doodlebug glitter.

I did the heel in brown as if it were a wooden heel. (I have a pair of shoes *almost* exactly like this! hehehe) You'll notice that our beauty has shoes to match only they are in the hot orange hue to match her lingerie!! I set her aside to dry and rest.

I found a gorgeous piece of Basic Grey paper that I edge distressed and laid perpendicular to my main panel. I then used my heart edge punch to punch the hearts out of a scrap of manila folder that I had lying around, added some black glittery hearts with my glue pen and black glitter, an orange rhinestone brad on the top and the word AUTHENTIC on the side. The sticker is from an old SU! Simply Scrappin' kit. I then stamped 3 retro stars from the Girl's Ruin set and punched them out using my 3/4" circle punch. They are popped up on 3-D foam adhesive dots for some added dimension.

I used some Vanilla colored ribbon to create a pleated piece in order to bring some flow and continuity to the transition from the main image to the embellishments on the right hand side of the card.
I then used some new Taupe ribbon to tie through my punched hole in the front of the card and tied a small and floofy bow on the left hand side for balance.
Now - back to my main panel. It's dry and ready for placement. I gently edge distressed the main panel along with the chocolate brown scrap I found to mount the image on. I used my Apron Lace punch with the same paper that I used for the interior and mounted it between the beauty and her background.I had THE best time creating this card. It's always such fun to work with newness and to have a cool theme as a jumping off point!!

Now off you go to the fabulous Erika!! (who I am very privileged to work with on another team!) She will most definitely knock your socks off!!

I hope you enjoyed today's creation!!! I know there is TONS and TONS and TONS of amazing inspiration on this list!! Have fun!!! Happy Hopping!!

XOXO-

Sarah
PerkyNihilist
BoHoRose
Patti
Stempelientje
Meredith
Erika
Angela
Sy
Cheryl
MaryG
Kas
Kathi
MissMagoo
Gabby
Steph
Kelli
Kim
Angie
Sunghee

Robyn's Fetish Wacky Wednesday Freebie!!

Hello and Welcome back to this weeks TREMENDOUS Wacky Wednesday! We have an adorable new release for you today. Linda Easter Girl!! Isn't she simply the CUTEST!!???!?

I truly am in shock that we're already thinking about Easter and St. Patty's Day!! My, my how the time flies!!

My creation starts with a simple royal blue background. My second layer is a lemony yellow (remember my New Year's Eve "agreement" with myself?) - Yes...it's all scrap!
Linda is colored with my Copics and Souffle Pens. I printed out the flower on some scrap PTI designer paper, cut it out and popped it up for some added dimension.
I then stitched the main panel to a scrap of Kraft stock with some lime green thread. I added a photo corner sticker from an old SU! Simply Scrappin' Kit to the top left hand side of the panel.

I then used self-adhesive diecut stickers from Reminisce for the bottom (carrots and blue swirly). And added the sentiment "I heart candy!" from a Studio G mini set that I picked up for $1 at ACM.Please check out my fellow DT members blogs as their creations are always so inspiring!!!

Enjoy your freebie and don't forget to meet us back here for this week's challenge!!!

XOXO-
Meredith

QKD Inspirational Hop!

Hi All!! Welcome to this week's QKD INSPIRATIONAL challenge!! We were given this AMAZINGLY serene picture to work with. I studied it, pictured myself there...and went with the first thing that caught my eye as my jumping off point.

But FIRST....However, first off, if you came here from the WIS blog then you are on the right track!! If not please start here so that you don't miss one amazing creation from my fellow team members!!
I started off with a white card base sized 4x4". I've been working a lot with large cards lately and I've been missing the intimacy of the smaller ones. As you can see I have used really low-tack painter's tape and my Inkessentials blotter (thanks to last month's Get Inked! Kit!)
I used SU! Wild Wasabi and my dabber to create the cool stripes in the background mimicking the adorable bolster pillow that's on the beautiful outdoor couch. I then took the tape off and continued to ponder...

The beautiful grass was what struck me next. I recreated it using 3 different colors of cardstock (all scraps!...yay!!). I adhered them together and then stitched along the bottom. I then took my scissors and snip, snip, snipped away!! I roughed it up with my hands a bit until it was a little 'softer' looking and then I adhered it to my card.
The colors really spoke to me on this and I instantly knew which ribbon to reach for. I have had this in my stash for literally YEARS and I use it sparingly because I love it so!! I tied a pretty, fluffy bow around the middle of the card as a focal point. I am using 2 of the 5 sentiments that come with the February WIS Club kit.
I stamped the 'U -n- Me' in Brilliance Ink - Pearlescent Orange and heat set it on the same yellow cardstock as the grass. I then used my SU! word punch to pop it out. It's adhered to the card with pop up foam adhesive.
I then used the Forever Friends stamp - inked in SU! Chocolate Chip Ink. I punched it out with my SU! Scallop Punch and pierced the edges.
I then sat it up and looked at it...and it didn't look quite right...it was definitely missing something. And then I had an AH-HA! moment. I grabbed my quickie glue pen and added a polkadots in a variety of sizes and then covered them with my Chocolate Brown Doodlebug Glitter. THEN it looked finished!! I love how it came out and I hope you do too!!

Now - off you go to Anita's Blog to see the beautiful creation that she has for you today!!!

Don't forget to grab your wallet so you can shop, shop, shop at the end of this awesome hop!!!

NEW STAMPS TODAY!!

Buy all 7 new releases for $25

Buy all 12 of the new Tim Holtz Distress Inks for $39

XOXO-
Meredith

FIL Bday

Hello!! I have a personal creation to share with you today!! This is a birthday card that I made for my Father In Law for his special day at the end of the month. The image is from a fantastic site Mo's Digital Pencil Shop.

The image reminds me of my FIL and my darling daughter. I kept everything very simple as it is a card for a man. And my FIL doesn't like floof and fluff. The simpler the better. But I know he'll appreciate this image and card.
My base is from my scrap drawer - as that was my New Year's "agreement" with myself. Try to use my scraps before cutting into fresh paper!! The only paper that is not scrap is the paper that the image is printed on. Other than that...all scrap!!

I layered the card base with a scrap of Kraft, another slightly lighter shade of blue and then the image itself colored with my Copics and sparkly Sakura gel pens and 3 mixey/matchy brads.
The interior has a small strip of green, argyle paper for added visual interest and it simply says "Happy Birthday" using an old SU! set.

I can't wait to send this out!!!

You MUST go check out Mo's site!! Her designs are simply stunning!!

Thanks for visiting!!

XOXO-
Meredith

Robyn's Fetish Saturday Recipe Challenge!!

Hello!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Welcome, Welcome, and WELCOME to our weekly RECIPE challenge!!!

It's so exciting as we're adding inventory, new images, gorgeous digital stickers, and more!!

But it is a challenge so first...I challenge you to play along!!

Here are the rules!!!

1. This week is a recipe challenge:

· Pleated ribbon/paper

· Fibers (think twine, yarn, cording, etc)

· 3-D effect (think pop dots, Souffle pens, glaze, etc)

2. Create any project.

• If you use a Robyn's Fetish Image AND post about it on your blog you will be entered TWICE into the drawing to win 3 of Robyn's Images of your choosing PLUS a special surprise!!!

3. You MUST leave a comment on each team members blogs in order to be eligible to be entered into the challenge.

Now - onto my creation. It's definitely DIFFERENT than my regular creations. I've been in Maine all week without any crafting supplies. So I went around the house and gathered what I could! I did bring some fabric scraps with me with the intention of making some new embellishments, and ended up using them for my pleated embellishments and then I created from the scraps ribbon to tie on top of my altered notebook.
While I was here - I had completely spaced on the fact that I hadn't done this project in advance. I was so busy in prep for my trip to Maine, my impending (now over) hand surgery, and the construction in my house I had done every project BUT this for while I was gone. So I being in the middle of nowhwere Maine forced me to get REALLY creative.
I went on a treasure hunt throughout the house finding, first and foremost, my children's art supplies (see background paper), duct tape, (because said background paper would not hold to the cover of the notebook due to lack of proper adhesive), Robyn's famous Cupcake image was printed out on regular printer paper then backed with cardboard from a cereal box to give it some sturdiness. The cupcake 'wrapper' is from a screen repair kit.
Everything is adhered with either glue stick or Elmer's. The sentiment RAVE ON is created from instructions from my children's new travel easels cutting the word RAVE from the word TRAVEL. The ON is cut from glitter stickers of my daughter's.

Please join us for this super fun challenge!!


XOXO-
Meredith