HLS July Mixed Media Challenge GD

I am thrilled to be here today as

 for The July Mixed Media Challenge for which the theme is: 

Here is my take:

Mixed media is not my usual style, so I immersed myself into looking at lots of inspiration pieces to come up with something wonderful for this exciting GD opportunity. I loved it because it really pushed me out of my comfort zone.

To begin the creative process, I reached for my box of "cool things that I can use on a card someday". I came upon this fabulous tag that I saved from a cross body bag that I bought in late winter in a little boutique on Long Beach Island in New Jersey. The designer is Spartina449.

This is the tag:

It was the perfect piece to start with. I added things here and there until I was happy with my panel.

I am also linking my project to Simon Says Stamp Wednesday Challenge - Inspiration Board.

Supplies Used:
Stamps: Winnie & Walter-The Big, The Bold and Fun, Hero Arts-Live Well Collage
Inks: VersaMark, VersaFine Black Onyx, PTI Ocean Tides Re-Inker, Yellow Distress Inks
Accessories: Paper Smooches Power Rays Die, Webster's Pages ribbon, Perfect Pearls, Heidi Swap Color Shine-Gold, Tim Holtz-Burlap Layering Stencil, Dreamweaver Embossing White Paste, Glossy Accents, White embossing powder, heat gun.

Thank you to Happy Little Stampers for giving me the opportunity to be Guest Designer for this fun Challenge  Please click HERE to check out the gorgeous creations that the Happy Little Stampers Design Team has made and leave them some love. Then find some fabulous thing or things to recycle for a mixed media creation of your own, and play along!

Birthday Wishes

I am so happy that I actually completed two projects today!  This one is my take on this week's Waltzingmouse sketch challenge : WMSC31.

I just got this fabulous new collection of Webster's Pages 6x6 DP: Hollywood Vogue & WonderFALL from Sharon Johnson's Ribbon Store.  This DP is so great for making fabulous cards fast. (Fast is a relative term for me, but I'm just sayin...).  My card base is Gina K's Pure Luxury Chocolate Brown, topped with a single sheet of the DP.  The wavy panel is the opposite side of that page.  I stamped one of the WMS Holiday Label No. 14 images using VersaMark Vintage Sepia ink on white cardstock cut with the matching Nestabilities Labels 14 die.  The sentiment is from the WMS Fancy Phrases collection and is stamped with VersaFine Black Onyx ink.  I lightly sponged around the edges of the label with Ranger Linen Distress Ink.  I added a ribbon, adhered the label with Dimensionals, added a bow and a French White Prima Fairytale Rose and - voila!    

Bundle of Joy

My niece Julie and her wonderful husband Gareth just welcomed their son, James Nicholas, into the world.  He is my Great Nephew.  He is so adorable and sweet.  It is a beautiful thing to have a baby in the family again.  The last babies born into my family were my babies, and they turned eleven in October.  They are excited to have a new cousin!

I needed to make James and his parents a very special card.  When I saw the Waltzingmouse Sketch Challenge today, I knew just what I would do.  I {heart} Waltzingmouse Stamps. Its owner, Claire Brennan, is just a delightful person.  Her designs are fabulous, as is her customer service.  If you have not shopped Waltzingmouse,  please go over and take a look!

There is very little stamping on this card.  I used WMSC30 for my layout.  I inverted the sketch because I wanted to use the space in the top right on the sketch for the baby carriage that I wanted on the bottom right.  The base of the card is Cherry Cobbler, and the second layer is Soft Suede over which I arranged pieces of Webster's Pages Petite Papers from the Lullaby Lane & Life's Portrait Combo Pack.  I purchased these from Sharon Johnson's Stamp Simply Ribbon Store.  I cut out the carriage and hood from another sheet of DP and popped it up.  I also used a clear atyou Spica Glitter pen to add some sparkle to the hood and the butterflies.  You can't really see that in the picture, but it is a nice touch "in person".  I used Waltzingmouse's Holiday Label No. 14 and cut it out with the matching Nestabilities die.  The sentiment is from Waltzingmouse's Frame It set.  I embellished the label with Kaiser pearls added some ribbon and a bow that I made with the Bow Easy.  This is a very non-traditional baby card, but I love it!

Butterfly Thank You

This card incorporates 2 challenges: Flutterby Wednesday and Color Throwdown.  The Flutterby Wednesday Challenge is it's an open challenge - just be sure to include a butterfly, fairy or angel on your new creation!  Color Throwdown #103 is:

I really love this combination of colors.  When I saw them, I immediately thought of these gorgeous new of papers I just bought from Sharon Johnson's Ribbon Store - Webster's Pages Seaside Retreat, Garden Gala & Nature’s Storybook Triple Pack DP.  They are just beautiful and can be used with little embellishment.  I used River Rock as my card base and added a layer of Riding Hood Red.  The next layer is Garden Gala DP.  I used Certainly Celery 5/8" grosgrain ribbon topped with Riding Hook Red 3/8" taffeta ribbon on the right side of the card for embellishment.  I stamped 3 different butterflies from Papertrey Ink's Butterfly Dreams in Certainly Celery, Riding Hood Red and Soft Suede ink, then cut them out with Papertrey Ink's butterfly die.  I adhered them to the ribbon with Dimensionals and bent them up a little on each side.  I added another strip of the DP to the right of the ribbons that I had cut when I was sizing the main panel.  I added tiny 4 tiny half-pearls to the center of the butterflies and 2 larger half-pearls to the top and bottom of the DP strip.  I stamped the "Thank You" sentiment from Butterfly Dreams on the center butterfly using VersaFine Vintage Sepia ink.  Thanks for stopping by today!