A Broken Streak

Eighteen days. I managed to colour eighteen straight days in a row for The Daily Marker 30 day colouring challenge. Yesterday was the last day... and I missed it. 😡 Shopping and cooking for a birthday dinner had a lot to do with it, so at least there was good food instead. 😉 But then today I decided to make a get well card for a friend recovering from knee surgery, so I'm making up for yesterday. 

Yesterday I did have time to stamp and emboss this flower cluster in sparkly embossing powder, and colour the yellow flower. Today I finished it off, although I overworked a couple of the flowers a bit. Then I discovered my lack of get well sentiments! So I used a put-your-own sentiment-together set instead. The layout of my card had been in my head from the start, so it was easy to put together.
Looking for something to do this weekend? I'm back tomorrow with inspiration for the latest Sisterhood of Snarky Stampers AND Naughty or Nice challenges! 

Supplies: black & Bazzill marshmallow cardstock, Strathmore mixed media paper, Paper Smooches Blossoming Buds & Simon Says Stamp Happy sentiments stamps, Versafine onyx black & Altenew Caribbean sky & Persian blue inks, Hero Arts sparkle clear embossing powder, Spellbinders oval dies

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Birthday Candles

It's the penultimate day of The Daily Marker 30 Day colouring challenge! It's been a lot of fun, but it's also okay that I won't feel the need to be creative every. single. day. 😂 But for today, I did a little marker colouring, and looked to the current Tag You're It challenge for a a bit of extra inspiration. Here is the inspiration tag: 

Cute!!! I took inspiration from the crazy dog, the stencilling, and the two-part sentiment. Of course I used a cat. And decided to incorporate mine into a card...

It's an obvious oversight that I don't have a bricks stencil, but I used a burlap stencil instead. This may be the first time a mini cat has made it onto a project; I'm usually quite happy to use my full size ones. I almost feel I should get colouring credit for the cake, too — it was not easy inking it in four different colours! Brown for the chocolate layers, green for the candle, and yellow rock-and-rolled with orange for the flame and, um, aura. (?) 
I used the same stencil to add some texture to the background blue panel — if I ever need to make an alligator-textured card, I have what I need. 
Tomorrow is shaping up to be a busy day for me... wonder what I'll colour? 

Supplies: white, blue & black cardstock, Tim Holtz/Stampers Anonymous Mini Cats & Dogs, Neat & Tangled Gidts for You, Simon Says Stamp Happy Sentiments & Paper Issues/Snarky Stamps Ahhhh Birthday stamps, Versamark, Versafine onyx black, Memento rich cocoa, dandelion & tangelo & twisted citron & blueprint sketch distress inks, Ranger clear & Wow ultrafine white embossing powders, Tim Holtz/Sizzix Mini Cats & Dogs & Winnie & Walter Katharine dies, Tim Holtz burlap stencil, Spectrum Noir markers, Hemptique blue twine, May Arts ribbon, pop-dot tape

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Watercolour Musing

For Day 27 of The Daily Marker 30 Day colouring challenge, I decided to use the brand new Muse challenge as inspiration. Here is Sonja's pretty inspiration card: 

From Sonja's card, I took inspiration from the framed central flower, metallic embossing and the use of kraft cardstock. I used a flower stamp I've had for more than ten years, and had been thinking would be fun to use as part of this month's colouring: 

I'd only ever used Prismacolour pencils for this sunflower, and even that was quite a while ago! I started by putting a loose wash of blue Twinkling H2Os for the background, then coloured the sunflowers and leaves with Zig markers. Coincidentally, the sentiment comes from a totally different sunflower stamp set. I added a trio of tiny sequins to set it off. (I love those little sparkly sequins, but man, they are tricky to work with!) 
A little closeup of the pretty Moonstone embossing powder: 

Supplies: white & Neenah desert storm cardstock, Canson watercolour paper, Rubber Stampede Sunflower II & Papertrey Ink Simple Sunflower stamps, Versamark, Colourbox mango tango & Memento rich cocoa inks, Stampendous moonstone & Ranger clear embossing powders, Zig clean colour real brush markers, Twinkling H2Os, MFT Peek-a-Boo circle window die, Pretty Pink Posh sparkling clear sequins, pop dot tape

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Happy Purr-thday

I almost didn't colour today for The Daily Marker 30 Day colouring challenge! I spent a little time turning things I'd already coloured into cards (they'll show up here eventually) and almost ran out of time before dinner prep needed to start. Oops. For a little inspiration, I turned to the current sketch at Freshly Made Sketches: 

Butterflies changed to cats and, and strangely for me, the sketch became a little bit less CAS...

Since my Distress Markers were already out on the table, I used them to colour my two cats. I was going to sponge a background but it was a disaster used an oval of patterned paper as a background instead. The long sentiment strip grounds the kitties yet leaves the sentiment where it belongs in the sketch. 

Supplies: white cardstock, Canson watercolor paper, Simple Stories Vintage Bliss patterned paper, My Favorite Things Cat-itude stamps & dies, MFT black licorice ink, distress markers, MFT Blueprints 24 & Spellbinders oval dies, pop-dot tape 

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Spring Tulips

It wasn't quite like spring here today, so I thought I'd put a little spring on a card. 

This card went together remarkably quickly. I stamped the tulips and watercoloured them with distress markers — with less than a week to go in The Daily Marker 30 Day colouring challenge, I had yet to use them, so decided this was a good opportunity. This sentiment keeps the use of the card flexible... it could be get well, sympathy, even a birthday card with the right inside sentiment. 
TGIF! 

Supplies: Canson watercolour paper, Craft Smith red card base, Unity Tulips and Daisies stamps, Versafine onyx black ink, distress markers, MFT blueprints 24 stitched rectangle die

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When in Doubt... Go Crazy?

A self-imposed need to keep up my daily colouring streak for The Daily Marker 30 Day challenge did not go well at first today. I began by *attempting* to watercolour a bunch of images from a My Favorite Things stamp set called "Our Story". All but a teeny cat and a tiny pile of books are now in recycling. But instead of giving up, I moved on to a Crazy Bird! For me, they more or less colour themselves, which seemed wise today. 

I watercoloured the bird and his lovely bouquet of wildflowers, then was trying to decide on a background when I came across this piece of patterned paper on the table that went perfectly! I die cut it and gave it some woodgrain texture for a little added fun. A sentiment strip to perch on and everything was done. Now I just hope tomorrow won't begin quite as frustratingly as today did. 😉

Supplies: white cardstock, Strathmore mixed media paper, Authentique Be(you)tiful patterned paper, Tim Holtz/Stampers Anonymous Crazy Birds & Crazy Things stamps & dies, Tim Holtz/Stamper's Anonymous Hashtags stamp, MFT black licorice ink, Zig clean colour real brush markers, MFT wonky stitched rectangle dies, Papertrey Ink woodgrain impression plate, pop-dot tape

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Waving Hello

*waves hello* 😊
I managed a little colouring and card-making time again today: 

I adapted the current sketch from CAS Colours and Sketches for this clean and simple design. My sailboat is also pretty clean and simple, coloured with Spectrum Noir markers. The waves have been in my basket of dies so long, I have no idea of their origin, but along with the partial circle, this also qualifies for the Happy Little Stampers Anything Goes with Dies challenge for March. And I'm extending my streak for The Daily Marker 30 Day colouring challenge! 

Supplies: white & blue cardstock, My Minds Eye Go Fly a Kite patterned paper, Neat & Tangled Sailmates & Paper Smooches Wicked Nauticool stamps, Versafine onyx black & Memories black inks, Ranger clear embossing powder, ? and Spellbinders circle dies, Spectrum Noir markers

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It's Not Easy Being Queen

Saturday greetings! It's time for the latest Sisterhood of Snarky Stampers challenge — Q IS FOR QUEEN! Edna is obviously a direct descendent of Victoria, and was certainly cheated out of her rightful crown somewhere along the line. 😉

Where will this week's challenge theme take you? Here's where it took me: 

For the many times I've used this Unity image, I am pretty sure this is the first time I've used the sentiment. It was an obvious choice for this challenge! I inked the classy dame, then masked her so I could play with my new distress oxide ink using a sunburst stamp. A little misting with water allowed the ink to spread and oxidize a bit. Luckily, this crown paper matched perfectly. 
There are lots of ways to interpret this challenge... for proof, just check out the projects made by my snarky sisters, along with this week's Queen of Snark and guest designer, Paula! Please come and join us! 

Supplies: white & black cardstock, Strathmore mixed media paper, Authentique Be-you-tiful patterned paper, Unity Queen of the Universe & Neat & Tangled Sunburst stamps, MFT black licorice & fossilized amber distress oxide inks

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Books

For today's edition of "how many day's in a row can I actually have time to colour something" (five!!!), I thought it would be fun to go through my box of UFOs (unfinished objects) and see if something caught my fancy. It didn't take long to decide on a stack of books. 

My friend Ang sent a few me a few stamped panels of these ages ago, and till today, I'd only coloured one. I started out with trying to watercolour them, but decided the bristol they were stamped on didn't really like the amount of water I tried to use. So I pulled out my Prismacolor pencils. I'm never sure I really like Prismacolors; I usually have better colouring luck with watercolours, and I'm not overly fond of the somewhat shiny finish from the wax in them. But I'm sort of liking the end result here. Sponging around the edges of the panel and the (what ARE those things???) library due date slips give the card a vintage look. 
Another day successfully completed in The Daily Marker 30 day colouring challenge! 

Supplies: white cardstock, bristol, October Afternoons patterned paper, Tim Holtz/Stampers Anonymous Book Sketch stamp, Memories black & antique linen distress inks, Prismacolor pencils

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Chirp!

Four days in a row! I spent some fun time this afternoon watercolouring for The Daily Marker 30 Day challenge and making an Easter card. Here it is, with bonus cat hair along the top right of the fold! 🙄

As soon as I saw this stamp set, I saw a story my card could tell — although I realize I am probably the only one that sees it. Here are chickies two and three, with their fancy, store-bought Easter hats, ready for fun. Then there's mischievous chick on the left, with no ready-made Easter duds. So he makes do with an eggshell! Even though it's a little big and sliding down over his eyes, he's ready to have a good time! In the background, I've stamped a grass border and sponged in the grass and sky colours. The sentiment on the outside leads to "Chirpy-chirp-chirp!" on the inside (because of course that's what a bird is going to tell you), along with a Happy Easter translation. 
The current Curtain Call Inspiration Challenge is "fluff"; I have fluffy chicks on my card and pulled some of my colours from the challenge photo. My lawn puts me in the running for the new Simon Says Stamp Wednesday challenge, Bit O' Green. 

Supplies: white cardstock, Strathmore mixed media paper, Lawn Fawn Chirpy Chirp Chirp stamps & dies, Paper Smooches Woofers & Tweeters sentiment stamp, Versamark, MFT black licorice, Memento new sprout & grape jelly, Lawn Fawn freshly cut grass & tumbled glass distress inks, Hero Arts sparkle clear embossing powder, Zig clean colour real brush markers, pop-dot tape

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Mixing It Up

With hours to spare in the current Essentials by Ellen Mix It Up challenge, I was able to come up with an idea AND get it made! For this challenge we're to mix Ellen's stamps with Paper Smooches. 

I decided to REALLY mix things up, putting a PS flower in the Ellen bear's paws, and using an Ellen sentiment in the PS banner. The bear and banner are coloured with Spectrum Noir markers (plus a couple of Sharpies) and the letters of "sunshine" with Prismacolor pencils. My colouring means I've managed three days straight for The Daily Marker 30 Day colouring challenge. 

I added some sparkle to the banner flower centres, the bud of the flower that my bear is holding, and the letters of "sunshine". Feel free to pretend you can see it in the closeup above. ;) 
With my bear centre stage, this card also serves as a mid-month reminder for our current Naughty or Nice challenge, Mad as a March Hare: Feature a Creature! 

Supplies: white, grey & mauve cardstock, Essentials by Ellen All Inside stamps & dies, Paper Smooches Best Buds stamps, Versafine onyx black & PTI plum pudding inks, Ranger clear embossing powder, MFT Blueprints 24 stitched rectangle die, Spectrum Noir markers & clear overlay sparkle pen, Sharpies, Prismacolor pencils, pop-dot tape

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A Tweet Easter Card

Monday. Still winter, with more snow forecast tonight and tomorrow. Ugh. So a perfect day to look forward to spring by making an Easter card! 

I was inspired by Tracey's card for the latest Muse challenge and used the same stamp set, although I used different stamps (I think she's used the large Easter basket, where I used the smaller one.) In my mind (and possibly only there), my card tells a little before and after story, with some of the chick's supplies above the sentiment banner, and the happy artist with his finished eggs below. And just to go with it being a Monday, and winter, and everything else... as I was photographing my card, a fingernail caught the edge of the vellum strip, causing a crease and a teeny rip. 🙄 I will be re-doing the sentiment, but wanted to get this posted to extend my March colouring streak to two, count 'em two, days. (Yesterday I posted to Instagram, not here.) Coincidentally, this is the stamp set Tracey, Ardyth and Natasha are using for today's Daily Marker 30-Day colouring challenge as well. Or maybe not so coincidentally, since these were stamped using Ardyth's set. 😉
And one more I-blame-Monday thing... were I to make this again, I would put the paint can over to the right, with the paintbrush leaning against its left edge. I think the design would be more balanced that way. But given my day, I don't think I'll be attempting to move them... 😝 Maybe tomorrow, which is the earliest I'll attempt to replace the sentiment anyway. 

Supplies: PTI soft stone & plum pudding cardstock, Strathmore mixed media paper, vellum, Sunny Studio Stamps A Good Egg stamps & dies, The Angel Company sentiment stamp, Versamark & MFT black licorice inks, purple metallic embossing powder, Mama Elephant Femme Frames die, Zig clean colour real brush markers, pop-dot tape

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Green and Snarky

It's time for a new challenge at the Sisterhood of Snarky Stampers!

Edna is looking rather green, isn't she? Our latest challenge is G is for GREEN with ENVY. Lest you think that sounds too challenging, we are offering a few options to make it a little easier. Yes, your project can have a jealousy theme, but it could also be predominantly green, or it could be a St. Patrick's Day offering. 

I had to think about this one for a while. Green is not particularly a go-to colour for me, the envy theme was tricky, and there was no mojo for a St. Patrick's Day card. But then, possibly because I'd just been to Casa Loma to see a display of costumes from the upcoming Beauty and the Beast movie, I came up with a riff on a fairy tale...

I used another piece from an earlier gelli plate printing session (for this card) for the base of this tag. It seemed vaguely lily pad-ish, or maybe at least marshy? My watercoloured frog couldn't compete with it at full strength, though, so I added a vellum layer as well. I printed the sentiment on computer and edged it with a bit of black ink. 

Of course, after I'd finished this, a new idea came along, thanks to a sentiment from Ginger's House blog. (A fine source of snarky sentiments! And discovered thanks to a Snarky player!) As staff member to a cat myself, I do sometimes envy this about cats:

It won't even surprise you that as I write this, Duncan the cat is fast asleep beside me. 😹 This old Stampin' Up image seemed perfect for the sentiment.
For more interpretations of this challenge theme, head over to the Snarky blog to see what the sisters have dreamed up, as well as our newest Queen of Snark and guest designer Josefine. We'd like to envy your talent, so come and play along! 

Supplies: (tag) white cardstock, vellum, Strathmore mixed media paper, Paper Smooches A Little Lovin stamp, MFT black licorice ink, Zig clean colour real brush markers, Winnie & Walter Scenery: The Leaf Effect stencil, acrylic paints, hole punch, scrap ribbon, pop dot tape; (card) white & black cardstock, Basic Grey Wander patterned paper, Stampin' Up Cattitude & Ginger's House digital sentiment stamps, MFT black licorice ink, Zig clean colour real brush markers, pop dot tape

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Madness at Naughty or Nice!

And just like that, it's March! Of course that means the start of the latest Naughty or Nice challenge... this month it's MAD AS A MARCH HARE — feature a creature! 

                                                 

To add a little extra incentive, we have BUGABOO STAMPS sponsoring this month's challenge... both the Naughty and Nice winners will receive a $12 gift certificate to the Bugaboo store. 

The owner and artist behind Bugaboo Stamps, Jodie, also generously gave the design team some terrific images to work with. I chose Critter Balloons-Cat:

After I'd printed him out on white cardstock, I decided it would be way more challenging fun to paper piece the image and have him on a blue-for-sky background. At least I was able to put a little bit of the original white copy to use for the cloud and the highlight on the balloon. The balloon is painted with iridescent medium and has Glossy Accents on top, which seems to be my default balloon treatment lately. The cloud as well as his nose, eyes and eyebrows have a coat of Wink of Stella. (Of course this went in the mail without a detail photo first...) A border of black glitter cardstock and what I thought was an appropriate sentiment finish this off. 
The Troublemakers had fun creating our inspirations for this challenge — now it's your turn! Feature a creature and join us by March 25th. You too could be a top pick and winner of a nice prize! 

Supplies: white and American Crafts black glitter cardstock, My Mind's Eye Away We Go & Echo Park For The Record patterned papers, Bugaboo Stamps Balloon Critters-Cat & Unity/Jillibean Soup Watermelon Gazpacho Soup stamps, Versafine onyx black ink, Hero Arts clear sparkle embossing powder, watercolour pencils, Winsor & Newton iridescent medium, Glossy Accents, Wink of Stella clear & black glitter markers, Marvy-Uchida corner-rounding punch, fun foam

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