What's on My Kitchen Counter

I am having so much fun playing with my watercolors these days - my collection of colors cost approximately $13 and I have had them awhile now.  I have only had to replace the white.  Colored this one up for the Outlawz Paper A La Mode Challenge (Anything Goes) and the Splitcoast Stampers color challenge:  Sugarplum, cucumber, and denim.  The image is from Connie Fong - she is one of the sponsors of the Paper A La Mode Challenge this week.  It is called Torri the Dragon - Birthday Girl.  Precious!  This card was an adventure.  I started doing the bg in blue, but it wasn't cooperating and I was getting lazy.  I thought about throwing it out, but decided to splatter on some more colors and put on some distress inks.  I ended up loving it more than the original picture in my head (that hardly ever happens!).  Hope you have a great weekend.  I am off to some garage sales and then my first Grandson's first Birthday party.  Should be fun! Hugz

Do you ever get in crafting moods?  I have never been a great colorist - markers and me have a serious love/hate relationship (I love them and they hate me).  They are so expensive, they dry up on me (do you really have to put those tops on good? and refilling is never fun), I can never find them (my fault), and I am too lazy and cheep to take a class and learn how to use the correctly.  So I am on marker strike!  I colored this selfie card with distress inks and water colors.  I was inspired to do the card from two of my favorite crafters - Julie and Sheila over at DRS Designs (I put links to their cards if you click on their names).   I used the Jimbo and Gang and Leafy Tree Branch images and the Jungle Out There sentiment - all from DRS Designs.  I love this selfie concept and will be doing more of them. The new DRS Designs Challenge started today and it is Naked Stamping !  Sounds exciting doesn't it?  The concept is to stamp your image but don't color it. 

The Outlaws Paper A La Mode Challenge is Christmas in July (great chance to get some Christmas Cards done if you want to join us.  One of my biggest dilemmas at work is what to get everyone that is cute and doesn't cost a fortune (there are 33 of us).  I found this great image from Dollar Graphics Depot called Christmas Coffee and Cocoa and it gave me a great idea.  I printed out the image making sure it was on the right side of the paper so I could score it, fold it, and make the card straight from the image.  Then I used the other image to pop up the sleeve and the gingerbread man. I sponged the sides with distress ink and stickled up the sparkles and icing. Super fast card which will be perfect when I do 33 of them. I can slip in a packet of cocoa and it will be a fun little gift. Hope you can join us over at the Outlawz. Hugz

The DRS Designs Challenge this week is a color challenge and here is the pallet: This picture makes me feel refreshed just looking at it!  Here is my creation Stamped the  Sailboat  image, sponged yellow on top and blue on bottom and edged with yellow all the way around.  Colored up my sails and boat with a paintbrush dipped in my inks.  Mixed up some white acrylic paint and recollections fine glitter to make my waves - the glitter added a lot of texture so I will be using this combination (more glitter) for snow on my winter cards this year.  I stamped on the You are My Sunshine sentiment as it seemed to fit this card the best of all my sentiments.  Took my scraps and stamped on some Lines of Plenty and stenciled on some of the leftover paint and glitter to make the little banners on the side.  Hope you are inspired by these colors and fun image.  Come play with us! Made this card earlier in the week also using DRS Designs images, ink, and an animal

I always show what is on my kitchen counter since I craft there, but today I want to show you what was on my kitchen table this weekend: It is a Little Blue Truck painted on a giant 6 ft box.  It covers my super large kitchen table.  My daughter and I painted it this past weekend for my Grandson's 1st Birthday.  They are going to cut it out and use it for a picture prop at the party.  So fun!!! I made a few cards this past weekend as well.  This one was for the Splitcoast Stampers Black/White Inspiration Challenge and the Fan Club Challenge for June/July: This one is for the Outlawz Paper A La Mode challenge.  The image is from A Day for Daisies and is called Wedding Mum.  I sponged the bg and the images (I used three copies of the image). Hope your weekend was wonderful and your week is going well.  Many hugz!

DRS Designs has some new fun stamps so I played with them this week (they are available in the store in a few days). My first card is made with the new sailboat, island scene, and ruler stamps.  I also used the Big Mouth Bass , You are my Sunshine , and Wood grain background images.  I was going for a Tim Holtz look on this one so I sponged and sprayed and stenciled the card and fish. I entered this one in the SCS Inspiration Challenge (the Tim Holtz inspiration from two weeks ago) and this week's color challenge.  I love all these images (new and old)!  After did the card, I realized I had stamped the woodgrain so lightly that it looked like rain so I will be doing this again with a rain sentiment.  Fun!!! Today starts the new weekly challenge at DRS Designs and the theme is Creative Piercing.  I used the new Congrats on your Pet sentiment (not sure what it will be called in the store) and the fun Doggie Dilemma Dog with Fence image with is already available. The fence d