Hello and happy Wednesday friends!  Today I am sharing another new January release from Whimsy Stamps with you called Polka Dot Pals:  Syeda.  The Polka Dot Pals collection is illustrated by Barbara Sproatmeyer for Whimsy Stamps. The Polka Dots Pals Collection are clear stamp sets with characters and various elements including scenery, facial expressions, animals, and more. Each is designed to coordinate as well as interchange pieces from one set to another. You can create your own characters by changing out faces or adding glasses. Pair characters together with cute animals or create different scenes each time you use these fun sets.  You can see more of this collection here. 

Perhaps you are already thinking, "Wow, this really isn't her style" and I'll be completely honest, you are correct!  This is not the type of stamp I would choose to purchase, as it is not my particular personal style.   This stamp set was gifted to me as part of being a Whimsy Stamps DT member.  Per the DT contract I signed (more about that next week!), it is required that I use and promote all gifted items.  I have always believed we can look at life two ways - the good or the bad.  How lucky am I that I was given this stamp set?  And, more importantly, what can I learn from using this product?  I will learn how to color. . . better! 

Many of you have been commenting that my coloring is "so good" and "amazing", but I'm here to tell you that it's a daily struggle!  I'm also very critical of my own work.  I was doing good . . . at first.  I saved her hair (the scary part!) for last!  I've watched all the YouTube hair coloring tutorials, I've taken online classes with Kit and Clowder, I've done ALL the things.  But, coloring is an art form and I am not an artist.  No amount of training is going to change this.  But, in time, I am slowly learning the tips and tricks.  As for hair, we're still working on that part! 

Here is the Polka Dot Pals Syeda stamp set that I used to create today's card:

I look forward to continue practicing my coloring skills, especially hair and skin, which I feel is one of the most difficult techniques to learn.  This Polka Dot Pals stamp set has been great to practice with. I'm learning to embrace the scary things (like coloring) and hope you will try to do the same too! 

Thanks for visiting and happy creating!

Hello friends!  It's no secret that I joined the RG Avenue Design Team in October, but today is my actual debut on the RG Avenue social media accounts.  Each new DT member was given a specific day to be featured and today is my time to shine!  I have thoroughly been enjoying my time over the last month on the RG Avenue team.  RG himself has been very welcoming, supportive and so unbelievably generous with his products!  Seriously, you should have seen the TWO large DT boxes I received last month - to include ink (Sugar Cubes), cardstock, stamps and more!  Kerry, the DT Coordinator is very organized (love that!) and my fellow teammates are equally as creative and complementary.  I feel very fortunate to be afforded this opportunity. 

Today I have created a picture frame using the Safari Boho stamp set.  I chose this stamp set because it reflects my love of animals and of the color blue.  This is an 11" x 13" gold frame with an 8 1/2" x 11" mat that I found at my local Wal-Mart store for $12. 

I cut a 8 1/2" x 11" piece of kraft lattice paper to mount in the picture frame opening.  Using the Lawn Fawn Grassy Border dies, I cut the grass from Tangy Apple cardstock.  I die cut the letters "W-I-L-D" from Rich Blueberry cardstock using large letter framelit dies.  Since the Boho Safari stamp set is a digital image, I printed the image onto Neenah Solar White Smooth cardstock and cut the images out using my Scan & Cut 2.   I colored each image using Copic Alcohol Ink markers and added highlights to each image using a Uniball White Gel pen.  I adhered the images to the kraft paper before inserting the entire image into the frame. 

Here is the Safari Boho stamp set I used to create today's framed image:

I would like to send a big thank you to RG, Gabby and the entire RG Avenue team in Arizona, as well as the DT coordinator, Kerry Urbatch, for selecting me to be a part of this creative family. 

I also thank each of YOU for following along on my creative journey and for taking the time out of your day to visit my website or other social media accounts. 
Your kind comments, feedback, support and encouragement keep me creating!

Many, many thanks today and always,

Hello friends and happy Monday!  I hope you all had a nice weekend.  Monday's are always so tough to bounce back from. . . Today's post is a bit of an experimentation in color.  What if I told you that you could make the same exact card for two entirely different people, just by changing up something as simple as the colors?  Case in point:  Happy Birthday in primary colors (ROYGBIV) are great for 5-year-olds.  Happy Birthday in gold and black works for 85-year-olds!  Last weekend I made the first birthday card in
ROYGB (no IV) colors and it didn't really appeal to me because I don't necessarily love traditional primary colors.  But, I decide to try it again and I LOVED how it came out in black and gold.  It really made the card look so much more elegant and classy.  Hmmm, I guess gold can do that to anything!

The base of this A2 sized card is made from Neenah Solar White smooth cardstock.  Using the Gina Marie Designs Scalloped Stitched Nesting Rectangle dies, I cut the first layer from Basic Black cardstock.  On top of that scalloped layer, I cut a piece of 5" x 3 3/4" white cardstock.  I die cut the letters from Real Red cardstock, Pumpkin Pie cardstock, Pineapple Punch cardstock, Garden Green cardstock and Blueberry Bushel cardstock.  I used the Large Letter Framelit Dies (retired) by Stampin' UP! On a thin strip of Basic Black cardstock I stamped the "happy birthday" sentiment inVersamark ink and heat embossed it in white embossing powder.  I notched both ends and added it to the center of the card using 3M foam adhesive for added dimension.

The base of this A2 sized card is made from Neenah Solar White smooth cardstock.  Using the Gina Marie Designs Scalloped Stitched Nesting Rectangle dies, I cut the first layer from Basic Black cardstock.  On top of that scalloped layer, I cut a piece of 5" x 3 3/4" white cardstock.  I die cut the letters fromGold Glimmer paper using the Large Letter Framelit Dies (retired) by Stampin' UP! On a thin strip of Basic Black cardstock I stamped the "happy birthday" sentiment in Versamark ink and heat embossed it in gold embossing powder.  I notched both ends and added it to the center of the card using 3M foam adhesive for added dimension.

Here are two more samples using this same "experiment in color:"

What do you think of this little experiment?  Have I convinced you?   Are you ready to try creating the same card in color AND in black/gold?!

Thanks for visiting and have a wonderfully creative day!

Hello readers and welcome back from hopefully a long holiday weekend (Yay, 4 days weekends are even better than 3-day weekends!)  Ugh! But, then Monday's are so tough. . . So, today we are going to fight the ugly Monday's like a ninja!  I'm not going to lie, I completed invested in this $45.00 Ninja Invasion stamp and die set from Altenew simply because of that one sentiment, "Crafty by day, deadly ninja by night."  How fun is that?!  I just LOVE it!  I have created a few different cards for you using this ninja stamp set and some vivid alcohol ink backgrounds. 

Because I am not currently creating video content and tutorials on my website, I highly recommend checking out this Easy Alcohol Ink Background Tutorial by Jennifer McGuire.  She has created a very simple introduction to working with alcohol inks to create some basic backgrounds.  This was the first video I watched after purchasing my alcohol inks and then I just spent time playing around with them!  The great thing is there is no right or wrong when it comes to art.  You just have fun (and usually make a mess) with it!  *My only tip would be that you don't need to spend your money purchasing polysynthetic Yupo Paper at nearly $1.00 per sheet.  You can use the reverse side of any high quality photo paper (like this one by Kirkland) and achieve the same results!

Here is the "Ninja Invasion" stamp set by Altenew that I used to create today's cards:

The base of all these cards are A2 in size and made from Neenah Solar White smooth cardstock.  I put a 5 1/4" x 4" sheet of Basic Black cardstock behind each alcohol ink background.  The sentiments were all stamped in Versamark ink and heat embossed with black embossing powder.  Because photo paper (or Yupo paper) is glossy, heat embossing works even better than using a solvent ink like Staz-On. 

I hope you have enjoyed today's colorful ninja cards!  I felt like a crafty ninja making them! : )
Thanks for visiting and have a great day!