Super Card for a Super Dad

Hi Everyone!

Korin has been creating more awesome digis and when she previewed "Super Dad" to the DT, I couldn't wait to play with him. I look at him and can't help but giggle and think "Ta-Ta-Ta-Da..... Super Dad to the rescue", lol!

After coloring him with Copics, I used my Octagon Nesties to cut him out. On a whim I decided to create a flap fold card and decided not to use any designer papers, just card stock. I used the "Happy Father's Day" sentiment from the "Super Dad" set on the inside and also used the "Super Dad Symbol". Here's a look at the inside of my card:

Be sure to swing by the Sweet 'n Sassy store to check out the latest digis released this week. You'll love them! And don't forget to join us tomorrow for Digi Day in our SNR and PCP groups!

Many blessings!

Micki

Short & Stubby = Lovable

Happy Wednesday Everyone!

I wanted to share another card I created with that adorable and lovable "Nathaniel Gnome".

My inspiration for creating this card came from The Sweet Stop's sketch SSS51. A great sketch, except that I got so 'into it' that I forgot my red ribbon which was to go across the card under the image. Regardless, I'm pretty happy with how the card turned out.

"Nathaniel Gnome" is printed on Neenah Super Smooth card stock and then colored with Copics. In my usual way, I colored him first and then paired him with the DP. I am rather happy to say that I did not agonize over the exact color match between his shirt and the designer paper. I tend to do that, lol and have been known to waste precious crafting time looking for just the right paper. My DP is from DCWV called Green Woodland Toadstools. The moment I saw it, I knew it would go perfectly with the adorable gnome.

The sentiment is from "Gnome Sentiments" and I just have to say how wonderful digital sentiments are. Although I have Photoshop, I tend to use MS Word for my digital stamps. I sized the sentiment to 1 inch, printed it out on white card stock and then used my circle punch to punch it out. So easy and so quick. I don't know about you, but there used to be so many times that I had a rubber stamp sentiment but it was the wrong size. I'm sure you can relate, right?

I hope you enjoyed my gnome card. The first thing my husband said when he saw the card (can you guess?) "Travelocity", lol.

And don't forget, tomorrow is Thursday which means it's Digi Day over at the Sweet 'n Sassy Group on SNR and PCP. Deedee will be your hostess at SNR and Kim will be hosting at PCP. Stop by to get all the details of the challenge, prizes and to participate in the friendly conversation.

Hope to see you there!

For the man I love....

My husband and I joke every year around Father's Day that he needs a Robot. A robot that could do all those chores and odd jobs which would free up his time to do what he wants to do which is work on his fine scale models. Until then, he always jokingly tells me that he is my robot, obeying my ever wish. (Don't let him fool you, lol)

I couldn't resist creating this card which he will get on Father's Day:

Not only is this digital stamp "Robot" totally adorable, masculine yet cute, it was drawn by Korin's son, Aston! I am in awe of everyone that can draw but I am really, really in awe when the artist is still in grade school!

I really enjoyed 'playing' with this "Robot" and immediately knew that I wanted to use this metal-looking designer paper that I've had in my stash with this digital stamp. I also played with all the different gray colored copics. The neutrals, the toner gray and the warm grays. I tend to always use cool grays, and was determined to have fun and try them all. Which I did as you can tell :-).

Both of my sentiments are from "Sentiments for Him" which is a great digital sentiment stamp set. I printed the sentiments on regular weight paper. Using a circle punch I punched each sentiment out and then glued it on top of a chipboard circle. The natural color of the chipboard matched the grays in the Robot so I left them 'au naturale'. Once the glue had dried, I used a nail file to sand along the edges! Works like a charm, except I got a little carried away on one of the circles.

I'm really happy with this card! Actually because of the inside joke my husband and I share, this card makes me chuckle. I can't wait to see his face when he gets it. I had so much fun coloring this adorable Robot, that I have several more waiting for me to color. I am thinking a pink Robot for Gracie and a purple Robot for Emma! And who am I to argue with a two year and a six year old!

Make sure to stop by Sweet 'n Sassy Stamps because there are so many new digital stamps! I'm talking cute, furry things, birds and oh, are there any bakers? Better hurry and check ALL the awesome digital stamps out. You're going to want them all! :-).

Have a wonderful day!

Peaceful Rejoicing

The challenge yesterday for Digi Day at the Sweet 'n Sassy group on SNR was to create an Easter themed card or project, and the cards everyone shared so far are absolutely gorgeous.

Continuing on the Easter theme, I chose Christ Arose for my card today. I had this beautiful digi stamp all printed out, ready to be colored ever since Korin released it. I wish I could do this beautiful image justice. There are some images that provide peace, tranquility, hope and this image does just that.

I printed Christ Arose on Neenah Solar White card stock then colored it with copics. I pulled out my Martha Stewart border & corner punch set which took me a minute to figure out, lo. I also used my Fleur De Lis shapeabilities die cut in half as an added accent. I added the rhinestones as an after thought which I am still not too sure about.

If you haven't checked out the Sweet 'n Sassy store, you've got to head over there and check out the latest digital stamps that Korin has been releasing. There is something for everyone :-).

Don't forget to play along with this week's Sweet 'n Sassy Digi Day challenge at SNR.

Have a wonderful weekend!

Keep Truckin'

Happy Friday everyone!

I don't know about you but I never seem to have enough cards for boys. When Korin released "Keep Truckin'", I had to have this all around great digi stamp. Yes, at first glance this digi stamp screams "boys" but I know a couple of girls that love trucks. I'm thinking a pink truck would be perfect for a girl card.

For today, however, I created this card with boys in mind. I've also been on a bold, bright color kick lately. Perfect combination for a boy card :-). After I colored the truck with my Copics, I grabbed my scrap basket and pulled out some scraps. Punched out several squares with my punch, layered onto larger card stock squares then adhered four of these onto the card base which already had different colored panels attached to it. Last I added the image panel.

I love how the box part of the truck is large enough to add any of the sentiments that come with this set. Of course I thought of this after I had the truck all completed. Instead of printing the sentiment inside of the box part of the truck, I printed it separately and used my ticket punch. Sponged some ink across the punched out sentiment to blend it in and popped it inside the box with a pop-up glue dot.

Another awesome digi stamp that was so much fun to play with. If you haven't stopped by the store lately, you really need to check it out. And be sure to share your creations with us!

It's a Birdie Delivery

Today is our SNR Digi Day and our challenge is For the Birds :). I hope you'll join us and play along for a chance at an adorable new freebie plus everyone who plays by Monday at Midnight EST gets a 25% discount on their next digi order!! The challenge is posted here and here is my card....

This cute little bird has been waiting for me to finish her up and create a card with her and I am happy to say that I finally did :-). This adorable digi stamp "Birdie Delivery" illustrated by Leah Cornelius is available at the Sweet 'n Sassy store for just 99¢. Have I mentioned how cute and adorable this digi stamp is?

For my card design, I once again chose a 'quick and simple' approach.... actually I should call it 'clean and simple'. I love clean lines and lots of white space... minimalistic I guess one could call it (and that is so funny since my craft room is anything but).

After printing "Birdie Delivery" out onto Neenah Solar White super smooth card stock, I colored her using my Copics. I then tried to come back to add some strokes to resemble feathers but didn't do too good of a job. My hands and fingers have been acting up which causes me to go outside the lines. Here's a little trick which you may already know about. I will take a light to mid color gray marker, in this case I used Copic C1, to outline the entire image. By doing this, I 'push' any stray marks of color back inside the lines. And the light gray outline also helps to add some definition and ground the colored image.

I also made my card size 5 x 5 since I have some square envelopes I keep forgetting about. That's the great thing about digital stamps....being able to resize them to the size you want.

Be sure to check out the store for the latest digi stamp releases and if you have not signed up for the newsletter, sign up today!

Meet Nathaniel Gnome

Happy Friday everyone!

With all the fabulous digital stamps at Sweet 'n Sassy Stamps, I always have such a hard time deciding which digi I should play with. After a great 'cyber' discussion among the design team, discussing gnomes and the memories they conjure up, I decided to create a card with Korin's Nathaniel Gnome.

Nathaniel was suggested by Chris Sather for the Digi Designer Contest. Isn't that awesome to see a stamp that you thought of?

He's colored with Copics and for his beard I became daring using Liquid Applique. It's my first time using this medium and I am not quite sure if I like it. His beard is too smooth. I'll just have to try it again, right?

Now when I think of gnomes, I think forest, nature, woodsy type colors which is why I chose earth tones for my card stock and panels. I added the red card stock pieces to tie the color of his jacket and hat in with the card. Having said all that, Nathaniel is printed onto Neenah Solar White super smooth card stock which I generally would not have paired with earth tone colors. This time I thought the white gave it a nice 'pop'. I love white space :-).

The sentiment is from Gnome Sentiments. These are just two of several great digital stamps which were released this week at the shop. And if you don't see a digi stamp that you are looking for or think of one that would make a great digital stamp, enter your suggestion in the Digi Designer Contest. Hurry though, this contest ends March 19th! Wouldn't it be so exciting to see your name at Sweet 'n Sassy Stamps? I think so :-)

Thank you guys so much and have a wonderful Friday!

~Micki

Good Friday everyone!

Today I am going to share several cards with you.

I knew the moment I saw Leah's Asian Doll and Cherry Blossom Branch, that I was going to feature these digital stamps this week.

Everything went well until it was time to assemble the card... and then I got a little too ink happy along the edges of the Cherry Blossom Branch panel.

Both images colored with Copics. I used my Spellbinder Nesties labels to cut out the Cherry Blossom Branch but didn't have enough white space around my Asian Doll to use the same label die (only smaller) which is why the Asian Doll is just a plain rectangle. I used chalk ink to ink around the edges of both image panels and then could not decide how I wanted the images to be laid out on the card. I saw it in my head, just couldn't get it to coordinate on the card. I'm still not all that happy with it.

Because I was not happy with it and I had fussed with it all evening long, I decided to do a quick & simple card. I've had "Ollie Owl" colored for a while. And I must admit, this uber simple card made me feel a little better.

Since I had this DP paper from my previous card all ready, I just slapped it onto a white card base. I used my Nesties to emboss the label die into the card front, using the DP panel to center it. I attached "Ollie Owl " with foam squares and voila, I felt somewhat better, lol.

Oh and drop by our SNR group, the Digi Day challenge is open until Monday morning, so you still have plenty of time to play along.

Clean & Simple, One Mistake and some Elegance

Happy Friday everyone.

I love candles. To me, the soft glow from the light of a candle create a feeling of tranquility, peace and coziness. I was excited to see the Lights of Home and Lights Sentiment digi sets.

I confess that this card is a quick & simple card. I used some DP scraps from my scrap basket and white card stock. The candle image is printed onto Neenah Classic Crest Super Smooth card stock and colored with Copics.

My next card was actually my first card I worked on. I followed this weeks Sweet Stop Sketch. And in the end I just wasn't happy with it. It looks lopsided, but thought I'd let you guys see it anyway :-).

My last card is one of my favorites. I already featured it on my blog but wanted to share it here too.

I used the bells from the Wedding Day digi set double stacked them to create a dimensional effect. I love doing that, it really does add such dimension which you can see in the close-up below.

Before getting ready for this post, I jumped over to Sweet 'n Sassy Stamps and 'oohhhed' and 'aahhed'. Seriously, have YOU seen the latest digi stamps? That Asian Doll digi has my name all over it, lol.... You guys have a wonderful weekend and don't forget to stop back here tomorrow for some inspiration from our guest DT, Lisa Jurecek.

Rocking Horse Cuteness

Hello everyone! I hope everyone is having a good week and those of you on the east coast have had a chance to dig yourselves out from all that snow.

For my card today, I chose to play with the adorable "Rocking Horse", illustrated by Leah Cornelius.

I know I sound redundant, constantly saying how I love this and that image, but seriously, this adorable image just tugs at my heart strings.

I printed the image twice on Neenah Classis Smooth Solar White 80lb card stock and then colored one with Copics. I then used a craft knife to cut out the rocking horse. The other image I filled in with a medium gray marker (for this I generally use my Prisma markers), I then trimmed it to size and using my Cats Eye ink pads applied the ink all over the panel, using a napkin to sort of smooth the ink. Since the image is a dark gray, I didn't worry about creating a mask. I then adhered the colored, cut-out image right on top of the gray one with 1/16" foam glue squares. I love doing this because it really does add awesome dimension. Here's a close up:

I have to admit that I've gotten quite good wielding a craft knife, lo. Once I cut out the image, I use a fingernail file to gently soften the edges and then go along the edges with a medium gray marker - again, usually use my Prisma Markers for that.

My second card is a very quick & simple card. As much as I love to color, sometimes no image is required to create a simple, elegant card... the sentiment alone does the job.

The sentiment is from Love Sentiments 1. Just plain black and white card stock, some recycled ribbon and black brads. To me this clean and simple style is timeless and took me less than 10 minutes to create and that, my friends, is a record for me. Remember, I over analyze everything, lol! I love quotes/sentiments and squeal with delight everytime Korin releases sentiment sets. Actually, I squeal with delight not just at the sentiments.....but at all the new digi releases...... :-)

Remember to check Sweet 'n Sassy Stamps store for the latest digi stamp releases, and why not sign up for the newsletter. That way you will always know the latest happenings.

Early Bird gets the worm....

Happy Friday Sweet 'n Sassy stampers.

With all the excitement of SNS Digi Day at SNR yesterday, seeing ALL of the February digis at the store, I was super excited to play with Deedee's "Early Bird" digi stamp.

You know, it dawned on me that I really had no clue exactly what color baby birds are! It's not like I have never seen baby birds, trust me..... we have soooo many birds around our house but for some reason the moment I picked up my Copics, my brain went blank. Does that ever happen to you?

I tried something a little different as far as copic color combinations for the big bird. I laid down a base of R17, used R59 for the shadows and areas that I wanted darker, went over those same areas with E09 and then took E13 all over, pushing the darker reds towards the lines. Never be afraid to experiement, especially with markers.
I also used this weeks sketch from The Sweet Stop for my card design and it worked out wonderfully!!!

If you stopped by yesterday, you know about the exciting news that Sweet 'n Sassy has gone 100% digital. That means if you go to the store, you get to see ALL .... that's right, like a whole bunch of new cute, adorable and beautiful digi stamps. What are you waiting for..... head over to Sweet 'n Sassy and check it out!

Kate & Lizzy and Friend

Yesterday Sweet 'n Sassy Stamps released new digital stamps and I so wished I had more time to color all of the new digital stamps up to share with you today. However, for today I was able to finish two cards - yeah me :-).

When I first saw Kate & Lizzy I knew immediately that I had to add them to my digi stamp collection. They remind me of Emma and Gracy. I'm sure that it's no surprise that I would pick these Sisters to feature here today :-).

For once I actually picked the DP, cardstock, flowers first and then colored the image. I even put the card together first which was (for once) super easy since I followed Korin's sketch. Korin is the guest host at SCS Sketch Challenge, filling in for Cindy Coutts.

I used papers from the Magnolia line from My Minds Eye and colored Kate & Lizzy with Copics. The flower petals are left over and came from my scrap bin as did the ribbon. (I'm so excited that I'm actually using up these left overs.) I kind of had to use the flower petals to hide a die-cutting mistake which left me wondering where to put the sentiment. I know I could have put it on the inside, but thought it added a nice touch right on top of the petals. Something a little different than your button or brad, don't you think?

My next card features the cutest, sweetest little mouse. It's Cupcake Cocoa.

And guess what, for this card I followed the sketch from The Sweet Stop! I'm on a roll, lol!!!
Nothing fancy, just copics for coloring Cocoa and the cupcake, left over striped DP from my previous project and some red polka dot paper from DCWV. The flowers are from Prisma.

If you haven't visited Sweet 'n Sassy Stamps to see all the new releases, make sure you stop by..... you'll be glad you did.

Someday.....

Good Friday morning Digi Stampers!

Yesterday was digi day at Papercraft Planet and let me tell you, I had fun. I was a little nervous at first, but everyone on the DT came to my rescue when I needed it. We had fun and the cards.... wow.... you ladies amaze me.

It was so much fun to showcase cards featuring yesterday's newly released digital stamps. You did stop by the Sweet 'n Sassy store to check out the latest releases, right? If you haven't yet, better go, no scratch that, better run to the store to check out "Fenton, the Frog" or "Heart Princess". Oh, and the sentiments..... love sentiments because I'm never clever enough to come up with a sentiment on my own.

I had so much fun with Leah's "Heart Princess" and Korin's "Fenton, the Frog" and actually created a seperate card with each image, but had so much fun yesterday that I promptly shared both cards at our Digi Day at Sweet 'n Sassy's PCP group. So I created this card last night:

Not only did I use "Fenton, the Frog", the beautiful "Heart Princess", I also used the reeds from "Flying By". All are colored with copics and cut out using a craft knife. I almost always will take a dark gray marker and go around the cut edges of the image. That helps to blend the edges in, especially if it's thicker card stock. I'm not sure if the papers work but decided to just 'go with it' and used designer paper from My Mind's Eye, Wild Asparagus line.

I used foam pop dots to add a little dimension. Here's a close up.

I used a sentiment from "Princess Seeks Frog" set, which I layered onto some DP scraps and adhered to the inside of the card:

Not too bad of a card considering that I really should have been in bed instead of at the craft table. But then again, with these awesome digital stamps, there is no such thing as a bad card.... because these digi stamps are just too cute~!

Make sure to stop by every day for new inspiration from the rest of the Design Team and don't forget to swing by Sweet 'n Sassy Stamps. :-)

Blowing You Kisses

Happy Friday Morning!

I had all the intention of sharing not just one but two cards with you today, however I ruined one of the cards last night. I wasn't feeling all that good and should have stopped while I was ahead, but I didn't. Sigh!

Blowing Kisses which was released yesterday is such a great digi stamp set and Deedee's Teddy Bear is so much fun to color even when one isn't feeling all that good. Actually, at first I wasn't very happy with the card but that cute teddy bear makes any card look good.

Teddy is colored using copics and die cut with Nestabilities Curved Rectangles. I started out just using dew drops but decided to add the heart die cuts. Honestly, I still wasn't happy but sometimes one just has to walk away from a project, right?

I decided to add the sentiment which is part of this digi stamp set to the inside of the card along with a die cut heart.

Did you get a chance to stop by Sweet 'n Sassy Stamps yesterday? If you haven't yet, head over there to check out all the digis. Be sure to check back tomorrow to see what Debi Southard created. I can't wait :-).

A Cuddly Koala and a Heart

Happy Friday everyone! I don't know about you, but I had a lot of fun yesterday at Sweet 'n Sassy Digi Day over on SNR. Everybody created such wonderful cards and more than once I was awestruck at the beautiful creations. Sweet 'n Sassy released 2 new images yesterday; A Note For You and All My Heart and I couldn't wait to play with them.

This cute koala bear was so much fun to color. I have to sheepishly admit that I immediately grabbed the brown copics, only to wonder what color koala bears really are. Regardless, I thought he turned out ok. I used Spellbinders Flor De Lis die and layered the image right on top. I also had an extra Nestabilities label 4 handy which became the 4th layer. To add a little contrast, I added a square dark brown card stock layer to the bottom of the colored image stack and adhered it to the card. The papers on the card base are from The Paper Studio. I added the small red rhinestones in the white space in each corner.

I tend to make cards without a sentiment, depending on the image I choose. That way I can add an appropriate sentiment as I need a card. For this card I added the "koala you my friend" sentiment on the inside of the card.

My second card features one of the hearts from All My Heart:

I used my Quickutz flourish die to add the black flourish which helped to hide another one of my famous "oops" :-) and because I thought it matched the flourishes in the heart. The heart is colored with copics and I used the Heart Embossing Folder from Cuttlebug to emboss the white card stock. Clean and simple.... and quick. This card is a 5x5, but I'm thinking of recreating this as a 3x3 to use as a gift tag and having my oldest granddaughter, Emma help me.

You have got to make sure and stop by the Sweet 'n Sassy store!! The January Release Bundle is now available and you can get the whole release for only $40. Oh, that violin and that cute, cute snowman, and.... Better go check it out, you won't be sorry!

Be sure to check back tomorrow to see what Debi Southard, one of our January Guest Designers has created. I know it will be awe inspiring.

Love Birds

A very Happy & Healthy January 1st, 2010 to everyone!

I am so very excited to start this new year with my first DT post for Sweet 'n Sassy Digis. Thank you Korin and Sandy for inviting me to be part of your team! And thank you, Deedee for having given me the encouragement to apply. I am blessed to have this chance getting to know my fellow team mates and consider each of you a part of my 'cyber' family.

With the Holidays behind us, it was so much fun to use the Love Birds which were released yesterday for my first official DT card.

I adore these two little birds. This image is so versatile! Perfect for wedding, anniversary, love or for a friendship card.

For today's card, I paired the image with a sentiment from Valentine Sentiments

in anticipation of Valentine's Day. Perhaps I may actually be ahead instead of behind :-).

The image is printed onto Neenah Classic Crest Ultra Smooth Solar White 80lb card stock and then colored with Copics. I cut out the image using Nestabilities Label Nine die. I used the larger Label Nine die to cut the pink card stock, which I then embossed using the Cuttlebug Heart Blocks embossing folder. I always have a hard time choosing designer paper, but thought that the paper from Bo Bunny Delilah Limited Edition Pack went perfectly with the colors and added the blue grosgrain ribbon for some 'pop'. I had the right idea, but for some reason it didn't turn out as I had envisioned so instead of trying to tie a bow, I used a decorative pin from my stash and some die cut hearts to lay the ribbon edges down. It's different, but I think it looks ok :-). To help cover a little 'oops', I placed the sentiment, (layered onto some scrap paper from my stash) at the bottom of the card which worked out wonderfully to hide my 'oops'.

To really make the Love Birds stand out, I used gray to color the birds on the bottom layer. I then colored another set of birds in yellow, cut them out using a craft knife and adhered them with pop up foam dots to the bottom layer.

Using a gray color on the bottom really creates a nice shadowing and 3D effect. I also make sure to go around the edges of the cut out with a gray marker to help blend the edges in.

Be sure to stop by the Sweet 'n Sassy store to check out all of the great stamps available. The new Digi Bundles are a great way to save some $$$.

Again, wishing you a wonderful and blessed New Year!