Belted Kingfisher

Belted Kingfisher

Friday, September 28, 2012

Sneak peek #3

Hi blogging friends!  Ah it's the weekend again - don't you just love it? Welcome back to another bellariffic friday.  This weeks challenge was to use BLING on your card, and I did just that.

For my card today I'm also show casing another NEW image - this one is called Reindeer and Trees - another beautiful image by Krista Schneider soon to be out in rubber by Stamping Bella - (I think the release date is Oct 1.)



For my image I used copics and then did shading with pencils.  The blue background was done by sponging versamagic sea breeze around the image.  I then layered this onto a piece of soft suede c/s and then chocolate brown, then stitched around the image.

For the layers behind I used a Spellbinder snowflake die to cut a piece of cream shimmer c/s  and a MFT harlequin die for the red border at the bottom. DP is Basic Grey - Aspen Frost.

Then the BLING  - rhinestones on the peaks of the harlequin die, on the star and on the reindeers nose, then lots of glitter every where else.

Want to see some more sparkle? Then hop over to bloggabella and check out all the beautiful creations the others have done.  Leave a comment for a chance to win $10 in bella bucks.

So for next weeks challenge we are back to a sketch.  You can email your card to Emily by thursday night to be included on bloggabella on friday, this will also get you in the running for a chance to win $20 in bella bucks.  Here is the sketch to follow:


If you want to see some more sneak peaks, be sure to check out the other babes as well as bloggabella.  Emily has been posting them there as well. 
 
Have a wonderful weekend everyone and thanks for stopping by.

Tuesday, September 25, 2012

sneak peak #2

I back today to share with you another Sneak Peak for this weeks release.  And it is another Christmas card - excited about that.  Now for all you Ramona fans out there this one is for you-

Mr. Penguin helps Ramona!



Now how cute is this image?  I must admit this was my second attempt at this card.  I had bright yellow dp picked out to go with her and when I went to put it together it was way too busy (even my husband agreed!), so I rummaged through some more papers and came up with what you see here.  It is by Echo Park called Christmas bells - this was from last year.  I coloured the image using copics and some shading done with prismacolour pencils and gamsol. 

Dies used are the spellbinder large square and the large postage stamp square.  Since I didn't have the right colour yellow c/s for layering, I took a piece of yellow c/s and used my copic marker to colour the paper.  I just ran the chisel end of the copic all the way around the outside edge of the c/s, and voila it matches Ramona's coat! I also used a cloud die and sponged around it to put some clouds in the sky, using versamagic sea breeze.

Finishing touches: lots of glitter, diamond dust for the ground, ribbon, white flock for the trim on her hat and pompom, and rhinestones for the corners.

Well that's it for today - don't forget about our challenge this week - it is use BLING on your card - glitter, rhinestones, pearls, you name it, if it sparkles use it! You can email Emily your card by thursday night to be included in the challenge.  Your name will also go in for a draw to win $20 in bella bucks.

See you back her on Friday.  Thanks for stopping by.

Friday, September 21, 2012

Are you ready......

for a SNEAK PEAK??? Well you are in for a treat today, because I think for this weeks bellariffic sketch challenge some  of the babes will be show casing a 'new image' to be released next week at Stamping Bella.

I have seen a couple of the images and OMG you guys are going to love this release.

Okay, okay, I know you want to see my card, so here goes - his name is FROSTIER - designed by Krista Schneider - so glad she is back, I love her stuff! Don't you just love him.  I have a soft spot for snowman, they just melt my heart.



I used both copics and pencils to colour him. Designer paper is from MME - winter wonderland.  For my sentiment I used happy holidays The ribbon looks brown but is is a deep burgundy.  For the dies I used spellbinder circles, and ovals and Memory Box frosty border.  

Finished it off with lots of glitter, glossy accents for the buttons and the berries on his hat.  For the ground I used diamond dust - it's a chunky glitter - so so pretty and sparkly.

Be sure to hop around to the other babes blogs to see what they are showcasing today, or you can head over to bloggabella and see it all there.  Leave a comment for a chance to win $10 in bella bucks.

Next weeks challenge is 'BLING IT UP"! You can email your card to Emily by thursday night to be included in the showcase on bloggabella on friday - you also have a chance to win $20 in bella bucks - hey just in time for the release.  

Thanks for stopping by, have a great weekend.  I'll be back again real soon with another sneak peak.

Monday, September 17, 2012

Uptown girl's Christmas Tree

Hi - I'm back today with another Christmas card to share with you.  I'm starting to work on my Christmas cards orders - Yes I have orders already, but when you really think about it we only have till the beginning of Dec to get them out in the mail, and the way this year has flown by, that really doesn't give us much time.

I'm using one of my favourite images from last year - Uptown girl's Christmas Tree. 


I started by stamping the tree on bella's bestest paper and then using my copic G20 for the base layer on the tree.  I then continued to colour using prismacolour pencils and blended out with gamsol. I like to do the base coat using the copics, I find it helps the blending of the pencils.

After it was coloured I then cut the image down to the size I wanted, layered it onto a piece of red c/s and then stitched around the edge.  Designer paper is Basic Grey - Wassail - one of my favourites.

Finished off with some gold mesh type ribbon, lots of glitter, and I used my glaze pen to put a bit of shine on the red ornaments on the tree.

Just a reminder about our challenge on Friday, it's a sketch - really easy, so won't your play along. (you can see the sketch layout on my post below). Email Emily your card by thursday night - you have a chance to win some bella bucks!

See you again real soon, and thanks for coming by today. I love reading your comments.


Friday, September 14, 2012

Buttons & bows

Hi All!  Thanks for stopping by today - today is bellariffic friday and our challenge this week was to use buttons or bows(ribbon) on your card.  Well that is never a challenge for me, because I would say 95% of the time I do use ribbon on my card..

Actually the card that I am show casing today, was going to be for another post next week, and then I realized I had a bow on it, so thought what the heck, it will work for this weeks challenge.

I'm a flower/nature lover, so I pulled out a never before used stamp called Em's Lantern Flowers designed by our very own Emily!


I started by embossing the flowers on a piece of cream cardstock, then embossed it with vanilla embossing powder (yes, vanilla, and it even smells like vanilla).  After I cut it out using a spellbinder oval, I left the die in place and sponged some Adirondak Lake Mist all over, a little heavier on the flower area.  I then layered it onto a piece of SU soft suede (love this colour) which was cut out with the spellbinder Floral  Ovals.

The background is a piece  of cardstock.  Isn't it  gorgeous? it has creams and tans, and comes in an assortment of different colours.
I just love the look of it and think it matches perfectly with my image.  Instead of buttons I used pearls (hope that is okay?!) and then I used a piece of taupe chiffon ribbon.

It was a pretty easy card - you could mass produce these and use them for many occasions.

Want more inspiration? then be sure to hop over to bloggabella and see all the other entries for this week.  Leave a comment for a chance to win $10 in bella bucks.

Next week our challenge is - sketch # 19! Love this sketch. If you get a chance to play along just be sure to email Emily your card by thursday evening to be showcased on bloggabella on the friday.



Thanks for coming by today, have a wonderful weekend!

Sunday, September 9, 2012

Greetings of the Season



I'm on a roll, and back with another Christmas card.  You know how much I love sketch challenges, so when I saw today's Karen's Sweet Sunday Sketch I decided to play along.  Here is the sketch:



and here is my take on it:


I used  Reindeer circle for my image.  It was stamped on bella's bestest paper and coloured with prismacolour pencils then blended with gamsol.  I freehand cut the circle out then layered it onto a piece of green c/s cut using a spellbinder scallop circle, then layered that onto a piece of kraft c/s cut using one of my new dies called Asian Accents.  Other dies used are MFT Mini Monarch border and the snowflake flourish is from Memory Box.

Designer Paper is by Echo Park called Season's Greetings.  The sketch didn't call for a sentiment, but it looked kind of bare below so I added 'greetings of the season".

Finished off with some glitter and some glossy accents on the berries.

Thanks for coming by for a visit, see you again real soon.
Till next time.....

Friday, September 7, 2012

Bellariffic sketch #18

Hi my blogging friends.  I'm back today for another Bellariffic challenge, this time it is a sketch - don't you love sketches? Here is the sketch we had to follow:
and here is my card:


I'm still trying to get at least one Christmas card done each week, so I pulled out one of my favourite Stamping Bella lines - called the Peeps!  This particular image is called Christmas Peeps.  I stamped the image on bella's bestest paper, then coloured  using copics and primsacolour pencils and blended with gamsol.

DP is by Cosmo Cricket - Jolly by Golly. I just happened to find some scrap pieces of green, and teal c/s in my scrap basket that co-ordinated with the DP.

Dies used: spellbinders rectangle, EK Success border punch. For the embossed background I used my new spellbinder m-bossabilities reversing embossing folder called - Holiday Magic.

For the sentiment I used Happy Holidays, which you can find here.

Finished off with glossy accents on the tree ornaments, and lots of glitter around the tree.  I also added a snowflake brad.

Want more inspiration to get your mojo going?  Then stop over at bloggabella.  Leave a comment for a chance to win $10 in bella bucks.

Next weeks challenge is "use buttons or bows (ribbon)" on your card - pretty easy eh?  If you get a chance to play along, then email Emily your card by thursday night.

Have a great weekend, and thanks for stopping by today.

Wednesday, September 5, 2012

Felicity & Blair

Hey peeps! Did you enjoy your long weekend?  I spent mine up in Algonquin Park.  Had a fabulous time - the scenery was breathtaking - especially at 5:30/6:00 am when you see the mist/fog floating over the islands out in the lakesAll you can hear are the birds and ducks doing their calls, everything else is still and serene.
We did a lot of hiking on the trails, and many we never got to (saving that for next time).  I will share some pictures shortly with you. 

For my card today, I decided to make a birthday card for a young gal in her 20's, (a request).  How perfect is Uptown Girls Felicity & Blair!


The girls were coloured with copics and then I did the shading with pencils.  Paper is Basic Grey - Hello Luscious.  

I fussed around with some embellishments, but nothing seemed to look right, so just kept this card plain.  I added lots of glitter to the dresses and some glossy accents to the wine.

Hey, don't forget about this weeks sketch challenge.  You still have time. You can  email Emily your card by thursday night to be included on bloggabella on friday, plus you have a chance to win some bella bucks.

Okay, well that's it for me for tonight, off to work on my Friday's challenge card - and I don't have a clue what I'm going to colour.

Thanks for stopping by, see you Friday.

Sunday, September 2, 2012

Backyard and beyond

No cards today, but thought I would share some pictures from our weekend outings over the last month.

These first two are of hummingbirds in our back yard last weekend.  They are a fast bird and hard to capture but Bill managed to do so.

Black-crowned heron in flight down near Kingsville Ontario

Ship wreck along the shores of Lake Ontario near St. Catharines Ontario

The Old Mill Inn at Elora Ontario


Thanks for stopping by, hope you enjoy the pictures.