Bookworm Gnome

Hello there. Welcome to my card blog!

Today's card could have my face plastered on it. My love of all things books goes back to my childhood. I was that kid whose mom had to hide my current book so I would do my chores. Then, I worked in the local library throughout high school, became a teacher, and was in book heaven all day. Now retired, I haunt the monthly library book sale. I have to be careful to not overload my shelf to the point that it sags!

I had so much fun making this card. My latest toy is a foiling machine. I am so thrilled that I can foil with my regular dies. Those stars in the background are from the Tim Holtz/ Sizzix swirling stars Thinlit. I used Copic markers to color the klmdigitaldesigns image Bookwork Gnome. The "DOCUMENTED" on the front is a sticker from Tim Holtz's metallic sticker booklet.

KLM Digital Designs image, colored with Copic marker; Sizzix star die foiled onto the background; Tim Holtz sticker sentiment	Inside sentiment, is one of 3 that accompany the image. The same star die was used to cut a paper stencil and was then used with Distress Mica Stain to add stars to the inside.

For other book nerds: The beauty that the card is photographed on is one of my library sale finds.

It is a collection of Kipling's works in one volume. It has the most delicious feeling, hand-tooled, embossed leather cover. Unfortunately, the condition is not great and the copyright page is missing. However, the inscription inside indicates it was a gift:  To Willis from Helen, Christmas 1935  Kipling lived in Vermont for a time as his wife was from here. I'm shocked someone else didn't grab this book first!

Have a wonderful day and keep creating!

Susan

Halloween Treat Bags

Boooo!

Getting into Halloween makes the last few days. I really see lots of uses for this Anna Griffin bag die.

It comes with dies to decorate for Halloween but I just took it to another level and threw EVERYTHING in my craft room at these bags. Everybody on the list will be getting one for Halloween and Christmas and Valentine's Day and..... Do you get my drift?

This was an easy make. I cut the bag out of a paper pack from Martha Stewart, colored up the KLM Digital Designs image from the new release, and popped it up onto the bag. This photo was taken before I added the Ranger Grit paste to it. I colored it with a little Forest Moss ink and it looks so cool.

I'll fill a little snack baggie with some goodies and give this to someone on my list. The backs are also finished with assorted cutouts, stamps, and anything else I can find in my stash.

This bag is for my grandson, the skinny eating machine! I used the candy corn and cookie skull Sizzix dies as well as Mr. Bones to decorate this bag.

The sentiment is from a MFT Stamps stamp set. 

Like I said... I'm using everything I can lay my hands on.

I'll take a few more photos of the others and post them later. 

Right now I have 11 finished and 8 more to go.

Craft room here I come!

Susan

Magic Music

Hello there, welcome.

 Today's card uses a little image and sentiment from KLM Digital Designs. The image was colored with

Copic markers and details were added with Sakura Gelly roll Star pen and a fine Multiliner. The image was die-cut with a stitched die and layered onto an alcohol-inked background. That little banner was made with a piece of music from an old music book found in a cellar. Really old...... 1915!

Enjoy your day, preferably with some good music.

Peace Gnome

Hello and welcome. The card I am sharing today brought back some memories😉.

I remember the 60's well. I was a teen back then, with flower power and tie-dyed rainbow clothes being all the rage. Now that I have seriously dated myself .... this card uses KLM Digital Designs image and one of the sentiments from the Peace Gnome. 

I used 4 printed images to paper piece this guy. The shirt and hat were cut from an alcohol-inked background paper. The glasses were cut from a scrap of holographic paper. The Peace sign was cut then colored with a Pentel Sparkle Pen in gold. The rest of the image was colored with Copic markers and layered onto a base image. I used an old Stampin'UP embossed specialty paper to make the "flower power" background. 

The stitched layers were cut using dies from My Favorite Things.

Paper piecing is a great way to give an image depth. I opted not to add foam to the cut pieces this time. If you try this just make sure you use sharp scissors! Ask me how I know 😡.

Snowball gnome stand up

Hello again. 

I liked working with this image so much I decided to attempt a layered approach with him He was easy to color the first time, so I figured I'd try to layer him.

This isn't as easy as some people make it look. It takes some planning! It took 3 images to create the layers.  the main layer is the full image, then the hat and face, mitten and snowball, then snow for the hat and shoulder. I used glittery laser printer paper for those. Once that was done there is a fair amount of color planning as well.  Whew! I'm not sure I'll do this again any time soon.  

The actual construction took less time than planning out and coloring the layers. In the end, it came out great. I will make sure it is sent to someone who will not discard it quickly!

Image: klmdigitaldesigns.com

Paper: PTI Aqua Mist, retired Stampin'UP DSP

Copics:  BG000, 11, 13, 18

               E000, 01, 04

                E33, 39, 47 (beard)

                C2, 4, 5, 8, 100 

                Black Multiliner, Sakura gelly Roll Clear Star

Enjoy

Hang in there Frog

Hello, and welcome to the holiday season!

For all of us hosting family and friends, navigating the grocery aisles, working through a season of makes,    cooking, and cleaning as we go, HANG IN THERE! It's all worth it.

With any luck, I will FINALLY have all five of my grandchildren under one roof for the first time. We all live here in New England but this just hasn't happened yet. The kids range in age from 22 to 7. I can't wait for an actual photo of all of them together.

So... this card just seems to do the trick for the approaching festivities. 

I just love his expression. The image and sentiment are from klmdigitaldesigns.com. He is colored with Copic markers. On the background, I used the Flurry stencil from Lavinia Stamps. I purchase most of my Lavinia collection from DelBello Designs, here in the U.S. The inks are all Distress inks. I stenciled a few extra leaves to cut out and pop up on foam to all a little extra dimension.

Copics used:  E33, 37

                    Y00, 21, YR30

                    YG61, 63, 67

                     G40, 94

Hang in there, friends, and enjoy the holidays!

Bailing on adulthood Gnome

Welcome, thanks for stopping by.

    There are days....and then there are others! Right? This fella is having one of those days. 

    I got the Snarky Small Talk sticker booklet from Tim Holtz/Ideaology and thought this worked with the leaping gnome from klmdigitaldesigns. I kid you not, my friend and I stood in the store, hysterically laughing at the sayings in the booklet. You just have to REALLY know the person you send them too. 

    The background uses a range of brown Distress Oxides that were brushed on card stock using a piece of paper as a mask to get a ray effect. It was then splattered with bolth gold and silver watercolors.

     The gnome is colored with Copics:

    Shirt- Y32, 23, 26

    Pants- YG93, 95, 97, 99

    Shoes/hat- E41, 42, 43, 44, 47

Hope you're having a better day than he is 😉😉.

Melding of the styles

Good day! I hope it has been a great one so far and this find you well and feeling creative.

It has been so hot here in Vermont the past few days (93-98) the only thing I've been able to do is watch Tim Holtz demos and play with all the backgrounds I've been hoarding. Too hot to work outside!!!

This first card is a combination of two of my favorite things, backgrounds and gnomes. I always have PLENTY of both around so I didn't even have to break a sweat to make this card.

The background was made with Distress Ink that was left on my glass mat. Sometimes I think these give the best results. I just spritzed the ink and dropped a piece of multimedia paper on it, literally! I then used the Sizzix/Tim Holtz Alterations Swiriling Stars die on it. The star piece was mounted on a smooth glitter paper from a Joann's brand pad (hard to see here).

I cut the layer with a Stitched Rectangle Die-namics Die from MFTStamps, and mounted it onto PTI Royal Velvet Paper. It is such a rich purple!

I finally got the Stampers Anonymous Tiny Text set in the mail and had HAD to use it. Love the positive messages in the set. I stamped the sentiment on the scrap left from the panel and layered it on the same purple.

The colored image is the wizard from KLM Digital Designs which is the first of the gnome series they had. It is now in polymer stamps. Great for all of you who have wanted to work with the gnomes but don't do the digital image thing. He is colored with Copic markers.

Have a creative day and, if in Vermont, stay cool!

Susan

Butterfly

Saturday, at last! It has been a long week . . . and there are 7 more to go. I hope we can all make it, students included! The weather has been cool but really nice. The forecast is for rain for the next 4-5 days so I spent the day outside in the garden today.

How do you like the new look? I LOVE it. Mums have got to be my favorite flower. My daughter created this for me. She is so talented. Thanks kiddo!

Here is a little card I made that was inspired by a photo I took last summer. The image is a KLM digital design., sentiment from PTI Mixed Messages;White CS Georgia Pacific; SU black CS and DSP; Nestabilities; Colored with Copic markers and Prisma Pencils and odorless mineral spirits.

Sleepy Bear Baby

I haven't made a baby card in forever. Thought I'd use my cute bear from KLM Digital Designs. Lots of Cuttlebug embossing and Nestablities. Image is colored with Copics and sponged with SU inks.

Oh, by the way, did you know that KLM has a line of acrylic stamps now. Check it out.

Another Challenge

Have you gotten the impression that I am doing nothing but stamping this vacation? It's true! Stamping and the Olympics - complete therapy!
Here are a couple of shots of the card for Cards and Things #20.
The close up is of the layers on the mum embellishment from the card. This is an image from KLM Digital Designs. Mums have to be one of my favorite flowers. This one is sized a little smaller than the one I use here. That is the beauty of digital images, you can resize them for your needs. It is colored with Copic markers.



Papers: PTI: Scarlet Jewel, Ripe Avocado, SpringMoss, White

Stamps/ Images: KLM Digital Design; PTI: First Fruits, Green Thumb

Accessories: Copic markers, Scallop punch, Sakura glitter pen, gold ball accents (Michael's)

Spring Fever CAS54

Spring fever seems to be all over the challenges this week. Here is my card for the

SCS simple card challenge.

The image is from KLM Digital Designs.

Papers: SU Certain Celery, Orchid Opulence;

PTI White

Ink: Bashful Blue, Certain Celery, Wild Wasabi

Accessories: Copic Markers, Nestabilities, Ribbon, Crystal Effects

Simply Copics

This is a very "springy" simple card. Copic color challenge was to use 3 colors. Gray, pink and green.

The image is from KLM Digital Designs, colored in Copics
Papers: SU Blush Blossom and Sage Shadow Texture; PTI White

Stamps: PTI, Mailbox Greeting

Multiple challenges

This card is for the CC258 plus kritter challenge at SCS; CPS#154 ; and the Copic Challenge to custom color your embellishments. I'm still not sure about these colors together. I would never have used them, but that's what challenges are all about, right?

The image is from KLM Digital Designs. In the second photo you can see it has been cut and layered three times. It was colored with Copic markers.

Papers: SU Soft Suede, Pale Plum, Perfect Plum; PTI White
Stamps: PTI, Mailbox Greetings; SU Dot background
Digital Image: KLM Digital Designs
Accessories: PTI buttons colored with Copic markers in V99, grosgrain ribbon.

PTI Contest

What a perfect combination. Mid-winter vacation from school, a PTI release and contest, AND the Winter Olympics. This is a perfect storm kind of week! I couldn't wait to do this contest. It sounded like such fun and I will do some more of these cute sheets to send to some stamping friends that I haven't seen in a while. What a great idea!  As for the PTI release. . . well, let's just say some spending plans are going to change!

 

 

 

 

                                         I chose to use the Mum image from KLM Digital Designs as my focal point. I  printed it 3 times so I could layer it for added dimension. It is colored with Copics. The cardstock is PTI's  Lemon Tart and Ripe Avocado. I used a sentiment from  PTI's Floral Frenzy.    Leaves from First Fruits (PTI) were stamped in Versa on the green for added depth.  The ribbon and button are also from PTI.

  

 

 

 

                                      

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                            

                                                                                                                                                                                         I made three flowers for the embellishment sheet. Two are layered with dimensionals. there is a PTI ribbon and button. Some Dew Drops and a few gold jewels to top it off. I can't wait to send this off to my friend. 

Ahh, a day to create

Hello all,
I hope you all had wonderful holidays. I finally decided to take a day to create. I needed to make an anniversary card for my in-laws for today. We had a big party for them this afternoon. A good time was had by all, and a lot more food on top of the holiday goodies. Diet, here I come.
If I stamp I won't eat!

This first card is a Mo Manning image. Her work is simply incredible. I thought this was perfect for an anniversary. There are several challenges out there addressing "NEW".
I decided to use this card. A new chapter in their lives, from a very long book.
See Mo's Challenge here .
For the No Time to Stamp challenge, here, I used a new technique to me, combining Copics and Prismas. I will be doing this more!

Three Clovers Designs challenge #45 was Celebration! 60 years worth!
Papers: SU Always Artichoke, Elegant Eggplant, Old Olive; GP white CS; DP from Provo Craft Scrap Pad
Image: Mo's Digital Pencil
Color/Ink: Copic markers, Prismacolor Pencils, Opalite Golden Mist
Accessories: Cuttlebug, Sizzix dies, MS fern punch. Primas, dimensionsl tape, Nestabilities


This next card was an attempt at combining challenges. The first is Mojo Monday's 119, and the second is SCS Color challenge CC251.
I used an image from KLM Digital Designs, colored with Copics and Prismacolor pencils.
Papers: SU in challenge colors
Accessories: Cuttlebug folder, Nestabilities, assorted letter stamps, SU hat punch, Hero Arts crystals.


Hope you enjoy. Until next time, create with reckless abandon.

Teddy's Christmas

Here is another image from the Christmas collection at KLM Digital Designs.
Copic markers were used to color the image. Enjoy.

Edit:Thanks to those who notified there was no image in this post! Here is the little fella. Nov.20

Warm winter wishes

Here is one of the new releases at KLM Digital Designs.

Colored with Copics, papers are from the stash!

Fall Wreath

Hello there. Hope all is well with everyone! Sorry to have been absent so long but this is life when school is in session. Everything else is eclipsed now and the system wants more. Blood from a stone . . . it's a good thing technology is taking over, because there won't be any teachers out there.

Decided to play this weekend to relieve a little stress and managed to get 3 cards put together. The first is for Thanksgiving. I used one of my designs at KLM digital designs for the wreath. Layers were cut with Nestibilities and papers are scraps from my growing stash. I colored the wreath with Copics. It also has the colors in the latest challenge at 2Red Bananas . Chec it out! Hope you enjoy. I'll post the others later.

Digital Tuesday's Challenge

Here is my simple card for the Digital Tuesday's challenge.

The digital image is from KLM Digital Designs. I used PTI white paper to print the image twice. It was colored with Copics, cut and the pumpkins were popped up. DSP is SU as is the cardstock.