A Moon Baby

Aloha and surprise - I'm still here and trying to make cards!

Our nephew and his wife in Tennessee just had their second baby, a little girl. They were blessed with a little boy first. I like to tease people whenever and wherever possible, so I encourage them "the fun" doesn't really begin until after 5 or 6 kids, so keep on going!!!! And be sure to breast feed all of them, and use cloth diapers lol!!! Don't cheat and use disposables because of the landfills and such. Hah! They are bordering on loathing from hearing me anymore :D

I stamped the starry background onto the card base. Stamped Image with StazOn Black ink. Using watercolors, I swirled colors for a sky behind the focal image.Watercolor Moon and baby (I CASEd Lydia Fiedler on this part). Cut the dried panel with dies and then adhere to card. Cover the hanging star with Glossy Accents and cover the entire crescent moon with Wink of Stella clear. SHINY!!!

I will try to enter this into Kathy Racoosin's 30 day coloring challenge ♥


Stamp Sets:  "Moon Baby" by Stampin' Up; Hero Arts "Mini Stars" (background)
Cardstock:  GKD Pure Luxury White 120#; Canson White Watercolor 140# (for the focal image
Inks:  Derwent Water Color Pencils; SU Pink Pirouette (for the background stars); Passion Pink (sentiment and darker stars on envelopes, inside card too); Memento Marker in two pinks drawing stitches and bow inside around the sentiment); Staz On black for front image
Dies:  Gina Marie Postage Stamp center with Stitched border
White Gel Pen (polka dots on baby's onesie)
Glossy Accents (on star hanging from moon)
Wink of Stella Clear(all over the crescent moon)
Wet Glue (Stays Put by Scrapbooking Made Simple)

Front of card, back of envelope

Inside card, back of envelope

Close Up Card

Thank you for visiting. But thank you especially 

for encouraging me not to give up

despite pain!!! Love you all!

Aloha ♥

Calendars and Envelope Art

Aloha dear friends,

I've been MIA and most of you know it's the usual-back and bone issues. But over the weeks I laid here stamping and spotlight coloring the envelopes for Hawai'ian calendars. I'm sorry I'm not up to listing everything used but here's an inkling :) It took about 3 months to complete around 25-30 of these 2017 Hawai'ian calendar sets. It was a joy to be able to do a little coloring spotlighting!

Stamps: SU flowers and birds
Inks: Memento Black
Pencils: Prismacolor, Gamsol, with touches of Sakura Clear Glitter Pen

Aloha for now!!!

Hog Heaven Thanks

Snort-snort means "And aloha to each of you!"

Usually I do not purchase supplies at retail (except for Gina K. Designs) but this time I had to just bust down and get this as MFT released it last week. Whoop - it is an adorable stamp set!

I used Koh I Noor Colored Pencils to color the images on the front, the inside and the envelope. It had been a while since using them and they were literally screaming for some love. Koh I Noor color pencils are 100% color, no thin, breakable lead in the middle. They are pure color. Just like any other color pencil, use lightly, building color up as you go to prevent the wax buildup. Otherwise, the wax can make it harder to blend afterward. Some parts I used Gamsol, others not so much. I like the look of pencil colors ♥

You really cannot see in the picture, but I cut extra "nose, hooves, hair bow and fence" and popped them up with foam. It's soooo 3D LOL! The background is all chevron stamped. I used VersaMark only on the white card base for the chevrons, then the same topped with clear embossing powder on the pink layer. If you look closely, there are teeny rhinestones in the middle of her hair bow and in each of the three flowers in the clay pot.

Using blue Copic markers and a white gel pen, it's easy to create some interest in the blue sky around the image :) Even the little nails in the fence are covered with Sakura clear glitter pen!

The envelope back is crazy filled with flowers, each colored with pencils, then blended with Gamsol. I just don't know when to stop. I hope Jennifer McGuire and Kristina Werner hold an Online Card Class "THIS is WHEN to STOP!"

Stamp Set: My Favorite Things "Hog Heaven" and Hero Arts "Chevron" background
Inks: VersaFine Black (onyx); blended the hills with Memento inks and sponge daubers
Koh I Noor full color pencils and Gamsol, paper blending stumps
Cardstock by GKD
Sequins by Pretty Pink Posh
Dries Clear by Art Glitter (dries super fast and sturdy for anything you put onto cardstock or paper)
Blue Copic markers to create the blue sky, Gray Copic markers for the shadows, Black Memento marker to go over all the images and around the fussy cut pieces
Signo White Gel Pen, Adhesive Foam Squares, Memento Angel Pink ink around the sentiment which is cut with a simple Spellbinders Scalloped Oval

(look at all the flowers on the back of the envelope LOL!!!) -- 

(inside of the card and the front of the envelope) -- 

Mahalo for stopping by and leaving some love!

Under the Weather & a short story

Social media can be a blessing at times. We can keep up with one another, share our lives, and find long-lost friends!!! Such is the case of Janet S. and me ♥

Janet and I had fathers in the US Army. Our dads retired in the great Pacific Northwest, hers in DuPont and our dad in Steilacoom, both near native American lands, the Pacific Ocean in Puget Sound and many land resources. It was filled with thick, tall pine trees, wild rhododendrons and azaleas everywhere you looked, as well as endless ferns and beauty bark paths through rain forest country and majestic mountains of the Cascade Range. Mt. Rainier was our constant companion, especially when the sun was out (every 10 months or so).

We were both cheerleaders all through junior high. This was in the day when our moms sewed our outfits, we just had to pick out matching socks and make the biggest, roundest pom poms we could. In high school she joined the tennis team and I had two knee surgeries, having done the long jump in track and both knees bent backwards. Yes, it hurt. Yes, they got stuck. She kept having fun while I ended up in a long leg cast for much of my sophomore year. All my physical activity stopped. I ended up in guitar and choir, both sitting down and fun. But Janet and I went our separate ways. She is now a microbiologist for the government and I went into nursing after a few years working for attorneys. ANYWAY....

Janet recently had to have knee surgery herself. I'm sure that 33 years later they have improved their surgical technique and she should hopefully mend up thoroughly and quickly. Me, not so much. But her son just moved to Maui and Janet is thinking of moving to either Big Island or Oregon (she's an east coast girl) to be closer to her family. This card is for my old buddy, newly found, Janet.

The stamp set is by Rupa Shevde for Gina K. Designs. I took GREAT liberty adding to the background, including the wallpaper, crutch, and picture of cheese on the wall because I imagine mice like to look at cheese. I even drew a cast on the leg and gave the mouse long eyelashes. This is watercolored with love. The envelope art and inside card is all Prismacolor Pencils, no gamsol, just thin pencil lines. I love this stamp set and it's a joy to get it inked up! Janet --- Get Well Soon! We need a cure for Zika and Dengue asap!

Entered into StampTV challenge this week with Silke Ledlow -- a SKETCH (I'm not a sketchy type person, but I tried on this one) Click here to see Challenge!

Stamp Set: "Under the Weather" GKD; Clear Stamps Floral Vine background stamp (on white base with VersaMark and clear embossing powder)
Cardstock: GKD 120# white; SU pirouette pink; thick vellum (sentiment)
Stratford Cold Press watercolor paper
Ink: Memento London Gray for images, VersaFine Black (and clear embossing powder for sentiment)
Spellbinder Large Circle die; Corner Rounder; small heart dies from MFT
Koi Watercolors; Prismacolor Pencils
Memento Markers (for the wall paper flowers)
Signo White Gel Pen (all the polka dots on the bedspread and stripes on the pillow case)
Martha Stewart dark green glitter on double stick tape for the stripes and hearts
Diamond Stickles as embellies on the pink half circle
3D Crystal Lacquer on the embellies, cheese painting and nail, the crutch and mouse nose

Prismacolor Puppy and Tomato Soup front of Envelope

Inside the card, color pencils squirrel 

Thank you for stopping by!

I am grateful for every single person in my life ♥

With aloha!!!