Water Color Pink Azalea

Hi all, we are back from our Spring Break trip to Lake Travis. It was ok, but, what were we thinking -Spring Break, Austin/U.T. college students, and a lake. We like to go in our RV and take in nature in all it's beauty and sounds etc. But instead there was the boom boom of party music all night, college kids driving hanging out the windows hootin' and hollarin', slaming car doors, even boats on the water with loud music! There must have been 30 in one camp space! So we came home a day early so we could get some sleep! We will know better next time, not to go on Spring Break!

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So, on to the card. I made this card for the parents of a good friend who we celebrated their 45th wedding anniversary with today. It was fun to look at their wedding album and hear the stories, the Bride wore a light green knee length ribbon dress. You know the kind that has the swirly ribbon sewn on it and fit her personality to a "T" *. I love to look at blogs and card galleries for ideas and tips on card designs, colors and embellishments. Problem is that I bookmark them but don't remember them all. Also I purchase different supplies to make a card and then forget why I bought it. So, I made a list of card sizes, shapes, folds, embellishments, techniques, stamps, die cuts, designs, embossing etc. and now use it so that I can get a variety of cards and use my ever increasing supplies more efficiently. This card is the first on the list.

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I used one of my Cuttlebug embossing folders to emboss the swirl design on the white card base. Then I stamped the azalea in black Stazon several times and water colored them with my Tombow markers. Have I told you how much I love water coloring with them! Next I cut them out, highlighted the stamens with yellow and lime green glitter glue and added a red crystal to the centers of the flowers. I cut out the layers with my scallop and circle nesties in a matching pink , a coppery pink metallic and white card stock.

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On the top white I layered the azaleas and popped them up three layers high with dimensionals to give them some depth like an azaelia bush and popped this white layer up. Next I cut out the smaller scallop layers from the coppery metallic and white card stock and used my Cuttlebug alpha die to cut out the "45" which is also popped up with dimensionals. To finish the card I made three pleats out of shaded wire edge ribbon and ran it diagonally under the layers and hanging and scrunching the two tails out the bottom side.

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The picture does not do the dimension and shiny card stock justice! I think I will have to make a photo mat with this stamp using the same technique, I love how it looks! I want to thank Lisa Phillippi for her Blog Candy Challenge - I Won, Yea! She will have more challenges so stop by and enter for a chance to win!

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Thanks to all who have left all those encouraging comments, I read and appreciate every one! If you leave your link when you comment, I can visit your blog/site also (the reason I don't get much sleep! lol). * To see the meaning of "to a T" click here.

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Until tomorrow's post,

Shalom,

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Sonya

Comments are always welcome!

Red Geranium Floral Punch Card

Hi all, I made this card for Lisa Phillippi's 3D Flower Blog Candy Challenge, see here . Her challenge was to make a card with a 3D flower and I chose to do one of my favorite techniques using coffee filters and Twinkling H2O's. First I punched out my geranium petals with a 4 leaf clover punch out of 4 layers of coffee filters. I used the flat triangular shaped ones not the fluted cup shape. Next, I used a waterbrush and Hot Cinnamon Twinkling H2O's to paint the flower petals. Twinkling H2O's give the flowers a beautiful sparkle. Letting them dry I then used my stylus to shape and cup the petals on the back side, then turned them over and used the stylus in the middle of the petal to cup it. Next, I added a center to each flower with a gold gel pen.

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The base panel for the geraniums is punched out of a Scalloped Rectangle Nestabilities die in a cream colored card stock. I used Tim Holtz Tea Dye Distressed Ink on the edges. Next, I punched 3- 1" circles out of red paper and cupped it to make a round shape and then glued my flowers to each forming my geranium flower heads.

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Using a long doll making needle, found at any craft or hobby store, I spiral quilled stems by winding a 1/8" quilling strip around it. I punched the leaves out of a two sided green card stock using the lighter side and then dry embossed the veins and highlighted them with a green Prismacolor pencil. Using a brick red chalk I highlighted the edges of the leaves. I dry fitted the flower and leaves positions, layering the leaves and then glued all of them down.

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Next I made blooms by using the same punch and "gathered" it, gluing it into a quilled base, using three of these glued together on a spiral stem and added these to the geraniums. After layering the DP onto the card base I tied a wire edge ribbon bow to the right side of the card and adhered the geranium panel over it offset to the left. The sentiment is layered and is cut with the Scalloped and Standard Nesties Rectangles, DP, cream card stock with tea dye edges. Small bronze flower brads are used on each corner and is popped up with dimensionals. The dimensional quality of the card isn't showing well in the picture but the geraniums are rounded half ball and the sentiment is set off nicely.

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This is a fun technique and can be used to make many flowers. See my other posts on "Floral Punch" for ideas and pattern books. You have until March 15th to play along for a try to win her Blog Candy, hope to see your project there!

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We will be out of town for Spring Break and not have internet unless we go into town and find a wi-fi hot spot, so I won't be able to respond until we get back. But don't let that stop you from commenting or contacting me at the link on the side bar, I'd love to hear from you! If you enter a card in Lisa's challenge let me know so I can be sure to look it up! Have a safe Spring Break!

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Posting when we get back!

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Shalom,

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Sonya

Comments welcome!

Lavender Wildflower Card

Hi all, here is the second card that I made for my aunt. I used my brand new Me & Carrie Lou wildflower stamp so that I could practice Jerri K's water color technique. The image was stamped and embossed in gold on water color paper and then I water colored it with Tombow markers. It has a lavender wash around the outside of the image but it isn't as dark as it should be, more practice!
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The base card is a pretty pearlescent medium lavender and has a mottled lavender DP layered onto it. I cut the water color image out and used my 24kt gold leaf pen to edge it. The wild flower stamp is pretty alone but I had those little lavender punched flowers with pearl centers left over from a previous project and decided to accent the panel with them.
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Finally I finished it with a darker purple bow and popped up the sentiment medallion with dimensionals. I still need more practice with this technique and if you want to see the "real thing" click on Jerri's blog link on the side bar, it is amazing! I have another card that I made today for a paper soul sisters blog challenge and I will post it tomorrow. Have fun with paper and scissors or the beautiful weather if you are luck enough to have it!
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Until the next post,
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Shalom,

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Sonya

Comments are always welcome, drop me a note!

Pink Flamingo Card

Hi all, I have been taking care of my husband and his fractured scapula so I haven't had much time to do much more than that and run errands! Today he was feeling much better and I had some time to sit and make two cards for my aunt who wanted them to give to friends. So, Aunt Sandy, here is one of them! I love my dies and wanted to use one of my new ones the Quickutz Pink Flamingo. I used a medium pink card stock and cut him out and used a lighter pink for his wing. Then I popped the wing up with dimensionals as well as the whole flamingo shape but is isn't showing well in the photo. The photo on the die package had his legs the usual yellow but looking at it I think that I should have used black to keep it all black and pink, what do you think?

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Next I accented the flamingo with some Glossy Accents on his beak, pink glitter on the wing and tail and a black crystal for his eye. The base card is the same card stock as the flamingo and is layered with black and a light pink. The polka dots are black light weight card stock and are made with a 1/4" hole punch, I glued them down and then accented the dots with Glossy Accents until it was rounded on top.

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I used my scalloped and standard circle Nestabilities to make the sentiment medallion and stamped the requested "Miss You" in black Stazon ink which is also popped up with dimensionals. Lastly I added a black satin bow above the medallion. I think I will go back and add something fun to the inside to finish it off, like more polka dots or just his legs hanging from the top inside of the card! lol! It was fun to make and I have lots more die just begging to be used.

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Tomorrow I will post the second card that I made, it has a watercolor panel using a Me and Carrie Lou stamp in Jerri K's technique. Thanks for all the great encouraging comments on my Blue Vine quilled card, it is one of my favorites also! If you have quilled cards I would love to see them, just email me at the link on the side bar, or comment below with the link.

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Until tomorrow's post,

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Shalom,

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Sonya

Comment and Let me know, Yellow or Black legs on the Flamingo?

Blue Vine Quilled Card

Hi all, here is another card with a quilled front. I was looking through my stack of paper and came across this cream colored one with a vine with blue flowers that looked like they could be quilled. So I recreated the vine pattern and used light yellow pearls for the stamen in the flowers for a little extra bling! Next, I layered that onto a coordinating blue card stock. I went looking for some ribbon that matched and found this wire edged graduated tone ribbon in the box that held my ribbon flower supplies and it matched perfectly. There wasn't really any room for a bow so I just looped it twice and ran it under the quilling mat layer.

Next I used the standard scallop and circle Nesties to make the medallion with the sentiment "Thinking of You", which is stamped in Brilliance gold inkand is popped up with dimensionals. The inside of the card is decorated with two strips of the DP and small punched flowers out of the blue card stock. I enjoyed making this card and will have to take a second look at my DP to see if there is another great quilling pattern there! I still have to go get the right light for my photo box so there isn't that pinky tone!!!! Let me know what you think of it, I'd love to hear from you.

Until the next post,

Shalom,

Sonya

Comments are always welcome, just click on "comments"!

Calling Nurse Appel!

Hi all, my youngest daughter is in nursing school 2 1/2 hours away from home and needs to study, are you listening daughter dear, study hard to graduate. The study time is precious and every bit is needed so, she doesn't come home very often so she can spend as much time as possible studying. She misses the family and loves to get mail and called us suggesting that we send her some! So I made her this card and am sending it today. I guess I will have to call Rachel and tell her not to look at my blog until I tell her it is ok to look, so she is surprised!
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The bear is die cut using the Sizzix "Get Well" die set and I used Prismacolor pencils and OMS to shade his feet and tummy. He was popped up on the red scallop and blue rectangle Nestie layers using dimensionals. I added three silver brads and a white twill bow. If you have every had a hospital gown on, you would recognized the twill tape used for tying it closed, or should I say try to tie it closed, lol! Next I printed out the sentiment "I need a nurse, do you know where I can find one?" on my printer and layered it onto a red scallop Nestie. The colors are not showing well and the navy and dark brown look black, I need to get better lighting!
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On the inside of the card I made a bookmark for her to use. Again, I used the rectangle and scallop rectangle Nesties to make the base layers. On this base I put the nurse die cut from the same Sizzix set as the bear. Finishing the bookmark with four silver brads and a twill ribbon with red punch hearts. The inside of the card has the answer to the sentiment on the front and says "Calling Nurse Appel", "Calling Nurse Appel".

While I was making this card, my husband was out riding his off road bicycle and came in just before I finished it. I asked him how he liked it. He gave me a funny look and I thought "was it that bad?" He said, "Well, I think I need one." I new exactly what he was talking about because on New Years Day he and Rachel had gone out riding bikes and he came home hurt from a fall and had a separated shoulder! Ewew, it creeped me out looking at it!

So, when he told me that he needed a nurse I knew we were going to go back to the ER. He fell on the SAME SHOULDER!!!!! It was just starting to heal! This time he fractured his scapula, something the E.R. Dr. said was hard to do, and tore the shoulder even more! He is officially grounded from his bike! We are waiting for to get into a ortho dr. to see what needs to be done to it. He signed the card saying he does need a nurse and I hope this "prophetic" card brightens my daughters day despite her daddy's injury! See, I knew all that money we spent sending her to become a nurse would be well spent and having a nurse in the family would come in handy one day. I just didn't think it would be so soon!

Thanks to all who leave me encouraging comments, they brighten my day!

Until the next post,

Shalom,

Sonya

Comments are always welcome, click on "comments" to leave one!

Custom Quilling Spotlighted Quiller!

Hi all, I received an email earlier this month from Denise at Custom Quilling asking me to be the spotlighted quiller for their March newsletter! It came at just the right time, right after I found out that I hadn't been picked for a design team contest, and was the perfect encouragement that I needed. There have been many gifted, talented and experienced quillers, whom I have drawn inspiration, instruction and encouragement for my quilling, that have been spotlighted in past newsletters and I am honored to be chosen to be among them.

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Click on the this link: http://www.customquillingbydenise.com/shop/newsletter-i-19.html and it will take you to the page where the newsletter is listed. Click on the March 2009 and it will open up a PDF page. You will need to have Adobe Reader to open it, and there is a link to download it free on the same page.

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The monthly newsletter has a great section on projects using the current monthly kit's supplies by Custom Quilling's Design Team, which I was also asked to be a guest designer! You know the saying, "when one door is closed a window is opened", it's true! Custom Quilling has a wonderful selection of paper arts supplies, ideas, kits, embellishments, books, patterns, etc. Click on the banner link on the right sidebar anytime to check out all the creative and inspiring things to turn paper into art at Denise's site! Check out her quilling gallery as well, there you will find beautiful quilled keepsake invitations and announcements and other quilling art!

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The quilled keepsake invitation that is above is done in the brides colors and flowers, red folded roses and gold calla lilies with quilled leaves and buds. It is accented with gold pearlescent vellum punched flowers that have gold pearl centers and two quilled entwined hearts which I like to put on wedding invitations. I like this color combination and the brown background makes the red and gold pop.

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Check out the newsletter and leave me a comment on what you think

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Until the next post,

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Shalom,

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Sonya

Click "comments" to leave a note.