Card - Walking with Friend

The brown has a hard time showing up on my little "staging mat" but it is a brown background card with a circle of red instead of the hot pink that it appears to be.

Supply list:

Paper - Colorbok (card); Keepsake Essentials (red cardstock)

Martha Stewart Circle Cutter

Pencils: KOH-I-NOOR Woodless Color Pencils
Klean-Strip Odorless Mineral Spirits

Card - Hyacinth Flowers

This was the main card to be done for the May 2009 MCPT Card Challenge. I only followed through with three of the five - just couldn't come up with anything "different" enough for the other two. Inside this card, I have a larger version of the "fallen flower" adhered in about the same spot just as an accent.

Supply list:

• Paper - Colorbok (card); Keepsake Essentials (yellow cardstock); Bazzill white cardstock
• Border - EK Success Plan-A-Page Template
• Cuttlebug Embossing Folder - Swirls (just the green and the yellow)
• Pencils: KOH-I-NOOR Woodless Color Pencils
  Klean-Strip Odorless Mineral Spirits
  

Card - Busy Mom

Honestly, I was a little fearful when I layered a second droplet of Paper Glaze on top of the bubbles. It remained milky in color until a day or two later. I literally let it sit for three days just to make sure it was completely dry after that! I did mean to run it through with the Cuttlebug Embossing Bubbles Folder, but just forgot until after the fact.

Supply list:

• Paper: Paper Reflections; Ampad Cardstock
• Aleene's Paper Glaze
• Pencils: KOH-I-NOOR Woodless Color Pencils
• Klean-Strip Odorless Mineral Spirits

Tip - MCPT Color Chart / Paint

This was briefly mentioned in my post about my little index card notebook. After creating a reference card for my MCPT colors, I realized that it would be helpful to have with my supplies to see what the color would actually look like after blending with the mineral spirits on a larger scale. So I created the 8½" x 11" sheet above.

I utilized the Microsoft Word table feature, and of course Excel could be used in the same manner. Because my pencils didn't have "color names" like a box of Crayola's, I ended up just using a number for each block above where I was going to place the color. Then I created two rows below that - the first more shallow than the second. The first I put a deep color and then the second was just for the blended color with the mineral spirits. I've only been doing this for three months now, so I haven't gotten into mixing colors yet. But once I do, I have plans of doing a similar reference chart for that. Obviously starting off with handwritten notes and then dressing it up a little.

This could be really helpful if you purchase your colors in singles. I may eventually P-Touch my pencils though because the numbers are a little hard to see even though I keep them in their container in numerical order. I think the P-Touch could just make it a faster reference. Would also be good if you paint and have a large inventory of paints for the large scale and the portable book.

Card: Little Girl with Butterflies

It's my day to post all of my Magic Colored Pencil Technique challenge cards. Taylor (the kitten) found that, if he times it just right, my workboard is a good place to sleep - while I'm working! So I had to rush some of them up!

Supply list:

• Paper: Ampad Colored Cardstock; Momenta Born To Be Wild Girl Cardstock
• Punch: Martha Stewart Classic Butterfly
• Cuttlebug Embossing Folder: Floral Fantasy
• Ribbon: Berwick Offray 1/8"/3mm Lavender

Card - Hedgehog on Bicycle - Party Invitation

I didn't really care for this one. I created one design that I didn't really like, but hated to waste the paper completely, so I utilized the paper I'd already done and covered over what I didn't like.

Supply list:

• Paper: Ampad Colored Cardstock and Paper
• Cuttlebug Embossing Folder: Bloom Dots
• Colorbox Fluid Chalk Pad - Chesnut Roan
• Microsoft Word: StamPete
  

Card - Family - Sheep/Lamb

I went through several trials with this one and finally decided on this color scheme. The coloring turned out to be the easy part! I used a q-tip to distress the edges of the "Family" scalloped circle with the same color as the "Family" stamp.

Supply list:

• Paper: Ampad Colored Paper; Colorbok Cards
• Cuttlebug Embossing Folder (Border): Frills
• Colorbox Fluid Chalk - Chesnut Roan

Card - May Your Day Bubble Over With Fun

I'm not sure why I did a purple monkey thing, but I just liked them that way. I may add another close-up photo later on since the Tiny Bubbles emboss didn't show up as well on here. May do that later in the week when I have more time.

Supply list:

• Paper: Ampad Colored Paper
• Cuttlebug Embossing Folder: Tiny Bubbles
• Martha Stewart Circle Cutter

Card - Easter Bunnies with Eggs

These bunnies were just too cute. Shown is the front as well as a portion of the inside.

Supply list:

• Paper: Ampad Colored Cardstock; Momenta Born To Be Wild Girl Cardstock
• Cuttlebug Embossing Folder (Border): Frills
• Stamp: "Happy Easter" Marcella by K 137028 Seasonal Stamps

Card - Garden Party

FRONT:

INSIDE:

This one actually has two layers of dirt and the carrots are raised from the back layer of dirt. It's hard to tell in the photo though. Kind of which I'd done a backing shadow to the letters, but didn't think about it until after I'd already Xyron'd it. Plus Taylor kept wanting to stand on the Cricut! But had to give the little nod to Ricky Nelson.

Supply list:

• Paper: Georgia-Pacific White Cardstock, Astrobrights Orange, Embassy Colored Paper Dark Green, Brown Construction
• Carrots: Found image on the internet, printed onto each of the colored papers and a little CPA later...voila!
• Phrases: Cricut Alphalicious card
• Dirt: Wavy Scissors, Embossed with swirled stencil

Card/Sign - Go Green / Recycle

I'm thinking about using this one on a little box I put on my table to use for recycling scraps (always too small to punch or do anything else with). It's hard to get a good shot of - actually had to diffuse the flash because it was putting too much light on it. Because the little guy is raised, he'd be a little difficult to put on the scanner!

Supply list:

• Paper: Embassy Black Cardstock, Embassy Colored Paper in Light Green & Dark Green, Georgia Pacific White Cardstock
• Phrase "Recycle Recycle Recycle Recycle": Microsoft Word
• Punch: Martha Stewart Scalloped Circle

Card - Party (Girl)

Supply list:

• Paper: Embassy Black Cardstock, Embassy Colored Paper in Purple, Light Purple and Light Green
• Texture: ("It's A Party") Cuttlebug Folder "Spots & Dots"
  

Card - Happy Birthday (Girl)

Supply list:

• Paper - Embassy Black Cardstock, Embassy Dark Green & Light Green
• "Happy Birthday" - Microsoft Word cut with Martha Stewart Circle Cutter
• Flower - Cricut - George & Basic Shapes cart
  

Card - You've Got Me Hook, Line & Sinker

I finally completed cards for the March MCPT Challenge over on the Cricut message board. I will still post them all as individual blog posts just so they will have their own labels and such. I made a discovery since my first stab at the Challenge from February. I was working and working and working and it was hard to get my colored pencils to blend. I knew there was something wrong. I went searching on the internet and found another site that specified wax-based pencils instead of water-soluble (which is possibly what I was using). After doing a little shopping, and working with the new March images, it was all better and oh so much easier!

Supply list:

• Papers - all construction paper this time
• Texture - Fiskars and Chizzel-It tool
• Phrase - Microsoft Word punched with Martha Stewart Scalloped Circle Punch (did take a little work to get the size of the words down to fit the size of the punch)
• Hearts - Martha Stewart Love Punch (paper for hearts were paint samples)

Place Cards - Valentine's Day / Be Mine

Another of the MCPT projects for this month. I went a little different with this one and made them into place cards. These didn't really take as long as I would've thought. Just a little assistance from the computer with the names, a little Valentine's Day ribbon, some plain red paper and plain pink cardstock both accented with white stamped Martha Stewart stamps. The white is a little hard to see in the photos, but has a nice effect in person.

Card - Girl w basket of Valentine's

Another one of the five MCPT February 2009 Card Challenge designs. Played up the wind effect embossing the card using various parts of a stencil. Added in a few little purple confetti hearts that I figured could've blown out of her basket. Left the card blank, so it could be used as a note card around the holiday.

Candy Bar Wrapper - Mice with candy bar & heart design

They're actually phasing out the old paper covered foil wrappers on candy bars and going to an all plastic material so you don't have the two wrappers. Guessing it's cheaper for them to produce this way, but for those that rewrap bars like this, it could be a problem. I was able to find one of the few in the store that still had foil, but had to go up to the 4.4 oz bar instead of the 1.55 oz. - like that's a problem! Even the 4.4 oz bars are going to the one-wrapper system though. Oddly, some are going with a retro design on the new wrappers! The paper is actually shiny like the paper candy bar wrappers - got lucky to already have it in my stash.

Card - Way To Go / It's Your Day

Another for the MCPT February card challenge with another little 3D effect for the balloons from the George & Basic Shapes Cricut cartridge. The phrases "Way To Go" & "It's Your Day" were also both from the George cartridge.

Card - Showering You With Love

I thought about this being for Valentine's Day but I guess it could be for anything, even just a thinking of you. This is one of the images being used this month in a monthly card challenge, hosted by a nice lady named Aprile, over on the Cricut Message Board. I've got a few more to do, but I wanted to at least have one up for Valentine's Day.

There are about four layers of plastic (from a plastic cover that came off of some packaging for a paper cutter) to make up the "jar" of glitter hearts (which Taylor made into a frisbee and slung across the room and under tables and chairs...much to my dismay!). In between each one is a layer of foam sheet scraps and confetti hearts in a shimmering color. The mouse on top of the jar has the same number of foam sheet pieces together so he could sit on the jar properly. The smaller mouse and the umbrella only have one layer of foam sheet. Basically everything on the card is raised with the exception of the scattered hearts and the phrase. I just realized that I forgot to replace the shadowing under the mice and the jar, but I guess it does it somewhat naturally. Maybe I should just say I meant to do that?! The reason for the two photos is to display the dimension - top with flash (see the shimmer?), bottom without (see the shadows?).

I started out with this thing on pink cardstock and then I changed my mine and went to lavender instead with a pink lace accent (thanks for the scissors Keith!). Now I'm not sure that it will fit in an envelope very well, but I probably should send it to my Grandmother...she's used to getting things late from me! Happy Valentine's Day!