Mythical Creatures Challenge at PCJ

My goodness, seems like forever and a day since my last post! Computer problems had me offline for quite a while and things have been a bit crazy the last two weeks trying to get caught up with hundreds of emails and more than 3000 Followed posts. I gave up on that last item. LOL Since I hadn't been able to print my digi stamps for my DT cards, I've spent my free time this past week getting some coloring done. Next week my schedule will open back up again and I'll be 'round to visit my crafty friends.

For today, it's a midchallenge post for Paper-Crafting Journey! One more week left in our Mythical Creatures challenge. Fairies, elves, unicorns, dragons... and the winner will receive 5 images from our challenge sponsor, Digi Stamps 4 Joy.

I used this lovely fairy image...

I colored my imge with Copics except for the wings which I did with a beautiful pearlized watercolor paint from Yasutomo.  Lovely sheen. The colors are a lot more intense in real life than this photo. (still more work to do with practicing camera settings! Sigh.).  I am still challenged by getting the flicking just right, but I enjoyed coloring her hair. =) I've been coming back to this very mermaid-y color combination of ocean blue, blue-green and purple for a lot of crafting this summer. Guess I needed to get it out of my system now that it's Fall and time for rich harvest colors. LOL My card layout is super-simple, focusing on the image. Since I spent this week getting back into the coloring groove, the cards themselves are mostly white on white with the color pop of the image. I used the Copics to perfectly color match the layers to my image and added some flat-backed pearls. Simple, simple!

My Teamies did some really gorgeous work... head on over and check them all out on the Paper-Crafting Journey blog! 

Will be round to visit soon and will see you all back here on Saturday! Til then, happy crafting!
Christy

PCJ DT Card: Feelin' Krafty - Fairy Daisy

Hello, my bloggy friends and followers! Happy blankity-blank FRIDAY! 

I am soooooooooooooooooooo glad and maybe surprised that I finally made it to the weekend. I'm already a day late and a dollar short for the current Paper-Crafting Journey Challenge, but I'm feeling krafty now, so we're all good. LOL

PCJ is looking for new Design Team members! Having lost some of our crafty ladies (sigh), we're looking for some new happy crafters to join our team. Wendy is holding a DT call for the month of July and you can read all about it and link up if you're interested here. PLUS we've moved back to our original site here! What? It's a woman's prerogative to change her mind. Often. And for no reason. =P As the new blog owner Wendy has given the site a fresh coat of paint and a new look, so check it out!

On to this fortnightly challenge...  FEELIN' KRAFTY! We want to see you use kraft cardstock somewhere on your paper craft! Don't forget that PCJ is not just a card challenge - it's open to all sorts of crafting---as long as it's made with paper! Up for grabs this challenge is a $10 gift certificate from our digi-delightful sponsor DIGI DOODLE SHOP. Although they were kind enough to provide some images for the DT, I had fallen in love with this fairy while shopping around for (ahem) my other DT and I had to buy her! She's just been sitting in my harddrive, waiting for me to print her out. =)

My new camera and I have not yet come to an understanding. What is supposed to be automatic and easy is persistently frustrating right now. The camera is so automatic that some of the settings I used on my old camera are missing. Or hiding. Or something. So adjusting my lighting after the fact is not quite working. I will persevere! I would have read the manual, but apparently paper is just so un-2012. They aren't cool enough that they sent it on a memory stick, but they did send it on a CD... so I guess I will have to load up and do some reading this weekend.

Sorry... back to business...  here is my krafty little creation for this challenge:

This image made me wonder... she's smiling, not pouting, so she's not in a fairy time out. Maybe she's just sitting, eyes closed, breathing in the morning air and enjoying the moment. Sounds so refreshing and relaxing. Hmmmm, wonder if I can find a daisy big enough for me? LOL Anyway, I colored her up with Copics.  I glittered her wings with Stardust Stickles and a bit of lavender Liquid Pearls. I also added a touch of yellow Stickles on the daisy center.

I embossed a piece of white cardstock and layered that over a lovely lemony yellow. I cut the yellow cardstock a little longer so that I could use this oh-so-cute daisy ribbon trim that I've had for a few years. The centers were already yellow, but I used a bit more of the yellow Stickles on them to tie in to the daisy image. Then I added my image, popping my little fairy up on foam dots because, well, as you know, I am obsessed with popping things up with foam dots. I am sure I have mentioned this at least once. Per post.  LOL

So... there's my fairy. It's simple, but a pretty little card IRL... not very photogenic, but she's sparkly and sweet and I think I know just the person who needs a little lift. I think her butterfly wings will be just the trick.

Though the ranks are a bit empty at the moment, my remaining teamies have krafted up (har har) some great cards for you that you can find over at Paper-Crafting Journey! Hope you are inspired to get a little krafty with us! 

Have a fantastic weekend wherever you are and happy crafting!
Christy

(Psssst... Before I go... just a quick tease that July will be an exciting month around I Never Went to Kindergarten-land...  be sure to stop by in a few weeks when Santa's Elves stop by with some yummy Christmas-in-July candy! See you soon!)

Guest DT Card: Flutterby Wednesday's Card Drive Challenge

For my Paper-Crafting Journey Pretty Pastels Challenge post, click here

This week Hilde and I are guest DTs over at Flutterby Wednesday challenge blog where they are doing a Card Drive for Send A Smile 4 Kids! You can check out the challenge details here and see all the Design Team's flutterby and fairy creations on their Inspiration Post! This week everyone who enters is encouraged to send their creations in to Send A Smile 4 Kids to be forwarded on to children in hospitals:

Send A Smile 4 Kids is a charitable blog created for the purpose of collecting donated handmade cards to be distributed to children while they are inpatient at Children’s Hospitals. Currently we are donating them to the Children’s Hospitals in Neenah and Milwaukee, WI, University of Iowa Children's Hospital, Iowa City, IA, Blank Children's Hospital, Des Moines, IA, Sandford Children's Hospital, Sioux Falls, SD, and to the B.C. Children’s Hospital in Vancouver, British Columbia and Stollery Children's Hospital in Edmonton, Alberta, in Canada.   On any given day, there are many children inpatient in these hospitals so we would love to receive as many cards as you can send to cheer them and their families. 

My first card is a fairy card, using Sweet November Josie's Cupcake, available from All That Scraps as both rubber and digi stamps.

I won this stamp - and nearly all of the supplies I used on the card, including the card base - from Amy over at A Thousand Sheets of Paper during the release bloghop a couple months ago. Josie is one of the Fairwees and they are ADORABLE! I can't wait to get them all. =)

 I used Copics to color my stamp, with a little Stardust Stickles for Josie's fairwee wings, Liquid Pearls for the icing decorations and some Perfect Pearls mixed with water for a shimmery icing.  

The papers are DCWV Sweet and I used some yellow dotted ribbon and aqua twine that was part of the kit Amy sent me. I used a Martha Stewart border punch and deckled oval Nesties from my own stash. I couldn't find a sentiment stamp that quite fit and I wasn't in the mood to create one in Word so I handwrote my sentiment in a dark purple metallic gel pen. The last accent were some of the flatbacked pearls Amy had also included. It was really nice having such a wonderful collection of papers, cardstock, ribbons, buttons, embellies and flowers to work with. I have enough to make lots of cards yet, so you'll be seeing more of these bits soon!

Challenges for this sweet treat: 

All That Scraps - Anything Goes

Stamping with the Dragon - Challenge #6 Things With Wings

My second card was this cute butterfly from a Paper Smooches set I picked up recently. I love the kid-friendly graphic look of Paper Smooches stamps and I always marvel at the stunning CAS creations she features on her blog... there are lots of her sets on my wishlist. =)  You can even pick up some great digi freebies here.

I started with these ProvoCraft papers and went for a very girly pink and purple scheme. I inked the edges of my papers with Dusty Concord Distress Ink and layered them up.  I used Copics to color my pretty little flutterby and used something new in my stash - White Picket Fence Distress Stickles - to give a subtle shimmer and glint to her wings.

I cut a cardstock circle and a Spellbinders Dahlia, inked the edges and stamped on a sentiment from the same Paper Smooches set, using Dusty Concord Distress Ink. After an errant water drop made the s bleed a bit, I recovered by using my purple metallic gel pen over the stamp lines and added some random dots.

I also used something new in my toolbox... this 5-point flower die from CC Designs, also available at All That Scraps. I cut two large, two medium and one small flower out of lavender cardstock and another dp from the same ProvoCraft slab and very lightly inked all the edges with Dusty Concord and Spun Sugar Distress Inks. I spent a bit of time playing around, bending petals back and forth to get some dimension to my flower. I popped through the middle with a tiny little brad from Making Memories and then glued it down over some sweet pink and white twine. I can see why everyone is falling in love with this stuff. =)

 I added a few pearls here and there then stood back and died of diabetic shock from the final sugary-sweet girly cuteness of it all. LOL  I do love this one. My inner crafty four-year-old doesn't want to give this one away. I may have to wait until she's asleep so my outer adult can get it into an envelope, address and mail it so that a 'real' child can enjoy it. <grin> 

I'm springing this card into these challenges:
Frosted Designs - Things with Wings
Penny Black and More @ Allsorts - Springtime
Let's Ink It Up - #21 Flowers
Crafty Sentiments - Things With Wings
Simply Create Too - #9 It's Spring

Don't forget to flutter on over to Flutterby Wednesday for inspiration and join us this week in the card drive for Send A Smile 4 Kids! You can find some simple guidelines for creating cards to donate HERE.


I'll be back soon with my DT post for our SAS4K challenge! See you soon - Happy Crafting!
Christy

PCJ DT Card: Fairies & Angels Challenge - Isabella

Hello, bloggy friends! It's that time again for another challenge at PaperCrafting Journey and this fortnight we're looking for your best fairy or angel creations! 

Our sponsor this week is The Emerald Faerie Garden, home to Linda Catchlove's line of whimsical little faeries and the winner will receive two digi images of their choice! Check out the details over at the Challenge. =)

I chose to use Isabella. Isn't she charming, sitting on her little hill with her flutterby buddy? 

My card this week is another experiment of sorts. I originally intended a very light pastel Spring-y flowery kind of creation, but when I was flipping through paper pads, I saw these K&Company's Jubilee Specialty Papers. Yummy! The colors in the butterfly inspired my color choices for coloring Isabella's outfit. I am normally not into yellow/gold or coral, so I'm finding it hard to decide whether I'm happy with my coloring or not. LOL

The sky behind her was originally a solid flat blue, but I wanted to create some clouds. I decided to try lifting some color out with the colorless blender and then used C00 to create shadow edges. My plain green grassy knoll wasn't too spiffy either, so this is my first attempt at grass blades. Can you tell I started on the left and was finally getting the hang of the flicking motion by the time I got over to the right side? LOL Her wings were lightly colored with the lightest yellow and coral colors before a nice coating of Fruit Punch Stickles which is a great combo of pinkish-coral and gold glitter. I trimmed around her wingtips and feet and the flutterby wings to be able to cut around the image with a circle Nestie and layered it up, using some Distress Inks on the edges. I bent all the wingtips out  little to give them added dimension and popped the decorative circle up on foam dots.

I added a number of Martha Stewart branch punches and some Wild Orchid Craft flowers which I glittered with Diamond and Fruit Punch Stickles. I used some of the Copics from my image to color some flatbacked pearls and as a final touch, I punched and layered a Martha Stewart butterfly cut from the same K&Co paper and added some small black pearls for accent.

Check out my teamies' cards over at PaperCrafting Journey and I'm sure you'll feel inspired to create a little fairy magic or angel goodness for yourself. Can't wait to see what you create!

In the meantime, I'll be heading off to enter my own card in these two challenges this week:

      Crafty Catz - #117 Things with Wings

      Glitter Geeks - Week 4: Myths and Legends

Happy crafting!
Christy

(Winter) Fairy Best Wishes

  

Hi! Managed several hours in the craft room tonight and worked on Christmas cards for two of my nieces... the first of which is a Pink Cat Studio fairy card in my favorite winter and Christmas colors - blue and white.

I printed my PCS digi and colored her up with just a touch of Copics and a ton of Stickles - Waterfall for her dress and Frosty Lace for her wings. I replaced the flower on her wand and added a sparkly Martha Stewart snowflake. I added a snowflake trail made of the positives from the Aspen PATP and a large snowflake made of two other Martha Stewart punches, glittered up and layered with foam dots, with a blue pearl to top it off. The paper is from my stash and I can't remember what set it came from. There are itty bitty pearls in the larger snowflakes in the Aspen border. I was having issues and lost three of those darn things while trying to get them on there. For all I know, one of the dogs is wearing them, as they park their big furry butts under the craft table while I work. =) haha  The sentiment was printed up from Word; the inside of the card reads "... for a sparkly holiday season" in the same font.

Here are some angle shots to show off the layering (love those foam dots!) and the glitter...

  

And a closeup of my fairy...

Fairies, sparkly-ness, icy blue and pretty snowflakes. My idea of winter perfection. =)

For challenges, I managed a bunch tonight... (hopefully I got it right that all these allow multiple challenges!)

ABC Christmas Challenge 2011: Y for YIPPEE! Christmas is almost here!

Kaboodle Doodles Challenge: #96 Colors of Christmas

Papertake Weekly Challenge: Anything Goes

Tuesday Throwdown: Celebrate the Season

Paper Crafting Journey: Christmas Challenge

Hiding in My Craft Room: Blue

Send A Smile 4 Kids: Winter Fun for Kids 

Totally Papercrafts: #95 Let It Snow

Simply Create Too: #1 All About Christmas

One Stop Crafting: #160 Let It Snow

Stamp, Scrap and Doodle Saturdays: Holiday Card

By the Cute and Girly: Let It Snow

Christmas Cards All Year Round: Anything Goes for December Card 1 of 5

Whew!  Ok, well, on to posting Card #2.  Happy Crafting!

Christy