~Beautiful You~

Although this post was supposed to go live quite some time ago (around the time Blogger went wacko for some of us), I thought it was still worth sharing...better late than never, right? ;o) This card was created for a previous Creative Inspirations Paints Challenge, and the theme was all about MOM:) So, I thought it would be nice to make my lovely Mom a card using one of my her favorite colors and incorporating one of her favorite things...flowers. She is an avid gardener and loves all things bright and cheerful. The floral background was created by sponging Rose Quartz CI paint over a Dreamweaver stencil (Flower Lace Background), then cut out using a Nesties Curved Rectangles die. The large blossom was made using the scraps from the background and another Nesties die...Dahlia. I love how the CI paint adds such a soft shimmer:) It isn't too overpowering, and it gives the card a delicate touch of elegance. I just love that! If you look closely, you will see that the bow also has a hint of shimmer. Yup...you guessed it...it started out a simple, white ribbon...but got the star treatment by simply adding a beautiful frosting of Rose Quartz CI paint:) Well, that about does it for me on this busy Monday morning. I hope your day is filled with happiness and overflowing with blessings!!! Thank you for dropping by and sharing a portion of your day with me!!!!

HUGS!!!

Carolyn

Celebrating with Quixotic Paperie!!!

Some of the SCACD Design Team have the pleasure of joining Quixotic Paperie today to help celebrate their 2nd Anniversary, and also to throw the spotlight on SCACD Stamps, which are available in the UK at Quixotic Paperie!

Today, designers from both the SCACD Stamps and Quixotic Paperie teams are showing off creations featuring some of the gorgeous images available through SCACD Stamps. 

It's not a hop, so feel free to dip in and out of the list of blogs however you please!

Here's the list of participants:

- Annika - Elaine - Kim D - Mary - Rowena -

- Alex - Carolyn - Colleen - Crystal - Danni - Dianne - Lori

As you may be aware, SCACD Stamps is run by the lovely Susana of Susana's Custom Art & Card Design in the US.  The SCACD Stamps range is available in the UK exclusively at Quixotic Paperie.

There are three fantastic artists in the current range from SCACD Stamps - Carmen Medlin, Elisabeth Bell and Victoria Case, each with a different style.

  

As part of the celebrations and the spotlight today, there is a PRIZE GIVEAWAY!  Visit the Quixotic Inspirations blog for details and to enter!

For my card, I chose to use one of the beautiful stamps from the recently released "Natural Beauty Collection" by Carmen Medlin for SCACD, which can be found HERE at Quixotic Paperie. This beauty is called "Dances with Dragonflies". She is colored with Prismacolor markers and all the lovely shimmer on her dress is from Creative Inspirations paint...Autumn Wheat and Ivory. The background was created using the Dreamweaver's stencil "Vertical Dragonflies" and Viva Decor Champagne Modeling Creme. I couldn't resist using the stencil since it coordinates perfectly with this image. If you are interested in learning how I did it, let me know in the comments section, and I will whip up a photo tutorial for you. All I can say is...it is easy peasy lemon squeezy...hope you like to get a wee bit messy;)

If you look closely, you will see that I used some sparkly gold spritz over certain areas of the card...this was created using my Gold Creative Inspiration Paint. I recycled an empty spritz bottle, but you can also use the Mini Mister by Tim Holtz as well. Then, you add approximately 20% water...80% rubbing alcohol...and a few drops of paint...I add everything into my spritzer (which looks a lot like the Mini Mister) with a recycled medicine dropper. I always begin with the fewest amount of drops...spray a test sample to determine if I like the color...then, I add more paint if I need the color deeper or richer. It is always best to start out small and work your way up, this way none of the paint is wasted...you can always add more; but once it's mixed with liquid, you cannot take it out.

Well, I have gone on and on enough. Thank you for joining us, we hope you enjoyed checking out SCACD Stamps with us today! Have a wonderful day!!!!

I am also playing along in the following inspirational challenges:

• Craft Room Challenge - Anything Goes
• Everybody Art Challenge - Distress
• Pile It On - Summer Heaven
• One Stop Craft - Texture
• Sugar Creek Hollow - Paper Flowers, Vintage Lace & Bling
• Daring Cardmakers - Roses and Honeysuckle (I chose the colors of soft, pink roses and creamy honeysuckle)
• Creative Card Crew - Wings
• Anita Be Stampin' - "Layer" It On Me!

Blessings & Hugs!!!

Carolyn

Card Ingredients:
Stamp: by Carmen Medlin for SCACD Stamp Co., Card Stock: Papertrey Ink (kraft and cream) and Bazzill (powder pink), Dreamweaver stencil (Vertical Dragonflies), Viva Decor Modeling Creme (Champagne), Creative Inspirations Paint (Ivory, Autumn Wheat, Gold), Copic Atyou Spica Glitter Pen (Blossom), Bazzill Chips "Flourishes," Nesties (Peony, Labels 4), Magic Mesh (Gold Fine Weave), Kaisercraft rhinestones (soft pink), Martha Stewart adhesive pearls, Tim Holtz Idea-ology "Adage Tickets", Hobby Lobby pearl sprigs, eyelet lace from stash, Scotch adhesive, dimensional adhesive

Spring Is In the Air!

Hello!!! How are you doing today? I hope your day is going BEAUTIFULLY!!!  I am extremely excited and honored to be one of the newest additions to the Creative Inspirations DT Family:o) I was first introduced to these incredible paints by Susana about a year ago, and it was love at first sight! As a papercrafter/card maker, shimmer and sparkle are an absolute must-have in my creative arsenal...so, these paints find much love on my projects. For me, they are a necessity! If you have never tried them, you truly do not know what you are missing!!!  They are beautiful...easy to use...incredibly versatile (just check out all the fab tutorials HERE)...quite inexpensive...and a little goes a LONG way!

For today's card, I was inspired by this week's Creative Inspirations Challenge- "Spring". I don't know about you, but when I think of springtime, I envision butterflies fluttering about:) I thought about what I would like to create and opted to dust off some crafty goodies that have been sorely neglected...a beautiful Dreamweaver brass stencil (Vertical Butterflies), an embossing stylus and a light box. Do you remember using these before embossing folders hit store shelves?  The stencil used on this project is very narrow...perfect for a bookmark, but not so great for a card...so, I embossed three panels to create my background. I painted the dry embossed butterflies with Tutu Pink CI Paint to add a touch of color and to give it tons of sparkle. Since I am not a skilled photographer, I had a bit of difficulty capturing its true beauty:(

For the butterfly above, I inked up one of my PTI butterfly stamps and painted it with more Tutu Pink CI Paint. I just love all the shimmer it added!! Since the stamped image was too big for the bow, I pulled out my trusty MS butterfly punch and let it do its work...now, it fit on the bow perfectly:) Then, I added the dots and the body with some Viva Decor Pearl Pens in Ice White and Black.

This was a really fun card to make, and it felt really good showing some of my neglected goodies some much needed love.  I hope you found a little creative inspiration today, and look forward to seeing your Springtime creations in this week's Creative Inspirations challenge:o) Thanks for dropping by, and have a beautifully blessed day!!!!

I am entering today's card in the following fabulous challenges:

• Creative Inspirations Paint Challenge ~ Spring

• Creative Cowgirls Challenge ~ Spring or Easter

• Sparkles Forum ~ Springtime

• Secret Crafter Saturday Challenge ~ Butterflies

 HUGS!!!

Carolyn

Card Ingredients:

Hobby Lobby card stock, Verve stamp - "Beautiful You", Papertrey Ink stamp (design on punched butterfly on bow) - "Butterfly Kisses", Dreamweaver stencil - Vertical Butterflies, Creative Inspirations paint - Tutu Pink, Nesties (large standard and scalloped circles), Viva Decor Pearl pens (Ice White, Black), Offray black satin ribbon, Martha Stewart butterfly punch, waterbrush, Memento ink (Tuxedo Black), light box, embossing stylus, adhesive.