Views of the Seaside

In preparation for next month's challenge I decided to look at a few of the images offered by one of our sponsors and stumbled across some sketches that really captured my eye.  There were so many fabulous designs, and choosing one was difficult to say the least.  I finally decided on a few select ones that showcased the Seaside.  So finally in addition to selecting the one donated by my sponsor I purchased a few additional ones.

I immediately began coloring these amazing images with my Prismacolor Pencils and was just having myself a good old time when I realized that I had forgotten all about my upcoming challenge and therefore did not apply my challenge theme rules.  So of course I had to purchase another one...now that was a really cool excuse to buy more (smiles).

I'm not real sure which one is supposed to be used in my challenge but I will use the one that follows the theme.   All of my images are from Delicious Doodles and colored with Prismacolor Pencils unless otherwise noted. Check her out if you haven't already, and when you visit Stitchy Bear look at her illustrator tab and you will find a list of very talented folks who's images cover a range of styles and themes.  There is so much to choose from.

Now, without further ado here are my cards that are fast becoming part of my collection I am referring to as "Views of the Seaside."

Image: "In The Harbour"
Inside Image:  "Open Sea" by Stampin Up
CS: Recollections
Media: Prismacolor Pencils, Memento Ink and Distress Inks
Sentiment: TPC Studio
Embellishments from stash

My second card in the collection is my attempt at a Window Card
Image: "The Scottish Castle"
Cardstock:  Recollections and Paper Studio
Sentiment: Computer Generated
Marianne Designs: Lighthouse Dies
Media: Prismacolor Pencils

This one although last is actually my favorite of these three.  I'm really proud of how my coloring turned out.

Image: "Sunset At Sea"
Image Inside:  "Beacon of Light" by Stampabilities
Cardstock: Bazzill
Media: Prismacolor Pencils
Sentiment: Tim Holtz
Embossing Folder by Darice

Challenges I'd like to enter are the following:
That's Crafty Challenge - All At Sea (07/11)
Sister Act Card Challenge - #63 Anything Goes (07/03)
Digi Haven - Life's A Beach Challenge (07/10)
Jelly Park Challenges - Beside the Seaside (07/02)
Crafty Catz - Challenge #237 Anything Goes (07/02)

So now that I've gotten everyone ready for wet and wild fun over the 4th of July holiday, I am going to hop over to see how the challenge is going.  Its almost time to announce our lucky winner.

So until next time stay safe where ever you are

 and create beauty where there is none.

Hugs

~Lesia~

"Thanks for stopping By"

French Country Tag

I can't seem to get enough of the Graphic 45 French Country Collection and I tell you I feel as if I need to buy more before they discontinue it the way they did with A Ladies Diary which left me with my mouth hanging open and my brain was a ball of confusion...totally devastated me.  Well I will not suffer that pain and disbelief again.

I plan to use so much French Country that I get sick of it and with three more packs to go its gonna take a while, so I decided that tonight I would do one of their wonderful project sheets.  This one is a tag offered by Robin Shakoor.  It was really easy to create and didn't take to much time either.

I was glad it was quick because in four days I will need to post my next challenge and announce our final February Challenge winner.  Next month every Friday is a winner so get ready...its a sketch challenge and I'll give you a sneak peek to get you started but before I do let me share my tag with you.

Here is the front of the tag.  It has a little pocket and was created using scraps and one actual sheet from the 8x8 paper pad.  I didn't need to use any of the pages in the 12x12 paper pack so there is lots more projects to be made.  Maybe my next project will be either a mini, or another printer tray.  Who knows what I'll end up doing....leave it up to YouTube.

Although the project sheet doesn't include decorating the reverse side, it felt incomplete so I decided to decorate the back with a sentiment.
I added more scraps and then used one of the cut out pages to stamp my message.  I'm not sure if you can read it or not but here is what it says:

life may not

always be

the party we

hoped for,

but while we're here

we might as well

dance!

If you'd like to try creating this little tag for yourself, click the link below and keep your fingers crossed.  It should take you right to the tutorial. 

French Country Tag.

Well this is pretty much all I have to share with everyone.  Remember next month there will be four winners and below is the sneak peek I promised.

 March Challenge "Sketch Your Way"

You choose the sketch to follow

(1 or 2)

Thanks for Stopping By

~Lesia~

Graphic 45 Release

Hello everyone.  After fighting the war with the flu I think I am finally winning.  It was such a blessing to be able to take a full shower without the fear of passing out and to sleep through the night for 5 hours without the fits of coughing.  Life is beginning to look good again, and my heart is filled with joy and peace once again.

Sounding a bit dramatic but I truly felt like I needed to call my attorney to go over my will.  The worse flu I have ever had!!  But I am winning this fight one cough or germ at a time (smiles).

Now that I'm up and on my PC again, I have to say I am real excited about all the new releases coming out next month.  Have you seen the new releases coming from Graphic 45?  They have done it again with three new collections and of course I am anxiously waiting for them to hit the shelves, although I will limit myself to just one (maybe two) complete collection.

There is the Botanical Tea Collection, All Sports Collection and By the Seaside Collection.  The colors aren't as bold as French Country and not quite as pastel as Secret Garden or Sweet Sentiments.  These new colors are rather mute and subtle so I'm not sure how I feel about them.

I decided not to do any pre-ordering this time, and my hope is that I won't later regret that I made this decision.   After looking at the new releases and the projects the team created I decided to expend the rest of my newly found energy on a project/tutorial offered by Graphic 45.

Now I am ready to share it with you.  The card is only 5.5 x 4.75 but I like how it turned out.

I used the gorgeous "French Country" paper collection and matched it with Tim Holtz's postage stamp die to create the frame.  I then layered my paper and added a border punch on one of the layers.  The center of the card I have a pocket tag from the French Country chipboard sheet.

I fussy cut the big sunflowers and used foam tape to pop them up and then I cut the words out from one of the sheets and popped them up as well.

I followed the tutorial pretty much but as usual I started making my own little changes along the way.  The inside I created using the negative of the die cut from the front and added a few leftover scraps to finish it off.

Now I'm off to bed...still trying to make sure I get enough sleep to allow my body to finish healing.

There's still time to enter our challenge to be eligible for our first prize winner, selected on the 15th as well as our monthly prize at the end of the month.

Until our next rendezvous, be safe and allow your creativity to flow.

Hugs ~Lesia 

June Challenge - Just Words

This post will remain at the top of my blog until the challenge closes!

Hello my lovely followers! I hope everyone had a fantastic Memorial Day Weekend and have survived this week so far. 
I managed to visit all the participants in May’s Bingo challenge and the talent is unbelievable. I tried to leave comments but if you have "word verification" turned on I may not have made it through the verification.  My grand-daughters even had a few comments about the talent.

With my girls encouragement I have agreed that for June's challenge we will have possibly three winners, but lets find out who is our BINGO winner.
(drumroll please) 

Random.org was used to randomly draw the winner and the winner is .....

Entry #19

 CONGRATULATIONS MOSHIE

You have won an e-certificate from Saturated Canary.

Please contact me at Lesia.cook@gmail.com to claim your prize

 (prizes must be claimed within 7 days of this post or winner will forfeit all prizes; claim your prize by 06/08/2012)

Now it’s time to jump forward to our challenge for June!  This challenge is “Say It With Words”....that’s right NO IMAGES ALLOWED. Make the words (sentiment, verse, greeting) your focal point.

Here are the rules:

     1.       Follow the standard rules located in the left sidebar

2.       No image of any type (does not include stamped/digital words, 
          sentiments, verses, etc.) 

3.       You can enter up to 3 new projects

4.       Link to your post and within your post link back to this challenge 

5.       Be one of my lovely followers or become a follower

Remember this month we will have two winners (random and voted) and maybe another winner if I reach 50 entries or more.  

First Place: e-card from Mo Manning; Saturated Canary; or Kenny K (winner chooses) (random draw)
Second Place: e-card from Kenny K (voted by my girls)
Third Place: e-card from Make It Crafty (a minimum of 50 entries) (random draw)

You have a chance to win all three prizes, there is no limit.  Here is a card I created without an image to give you hopefully a bit of inspiration.

The paper is Bazzill and Graphic 45. The sentiment is from Lost Coastal Designs and a bit of ribbon.  The verse says "always do right, this will gratify some people and astonish the rest."

On the inside I used the same papers and kept it very simple.  I think I will add something to the left panel, just not sure what at the moment.  Always room to improve, and maybe on the message panel add some corners to map the whiteness less white (smile).

Well there you have it, so go out and find those words you have in your stash somewhere.  Look around your home, in magazines and everywhere.  It is possible "to find beauty in all things and then go create your own."  I can't wait to see what you create.

Thanks for stopping by and remember your comments are welcomed and appreciated! 

Just For The Men

Hey Out There!! Can you believe that Father's Day is just around the corner and I hope all your crafters have been working away creating those cards for Dad and friends that are dads. Well I certainly have and I have a couple of cards I created for my boys that I would like to share with you so here goes.

My first card was inspired by the very talented Marianne, a lady that I think is absolutely marvelous in her designs. She challenges me with her work and I love it.  Here is another photo showing where your personal message would go.

I used Kraft paper and inked it up a lot and I mean alot. The patterned paper is from a papaper pack I discovered at Tuesday Morning (who knew, right?). I love how this card turned out.
Card Statistics:
The base is 5x7 and the 1st mat was cut at 4.75 x 6.75. The second mat  was cut at 4.5 x 6.5.  The border measures 4.5 x 2 and the straps measure 2 x .75. The personal message insert measures 4 x 7 and its mat is 6.08 x 3.5.

I would like to enter this card in the following challenges:
Tammy's Scrapin' Corner - Father's Day/Male
Try It on Tuesdays: Anything Goes
The Kraft Journal-Cards For Him 
Make It Monday - Always Anything Goes
Simon Says Stamp and Show - Anything Goes
Cards For Men - Challenge 12 Father's Day

This is the most challenges I have ever entered at one time! Thanks for stopping by.

Pocket Card With Tutorial

Hi Everyone, Mema here with a card for you. I created my first version of this card last year, and since then I have gotten a couple of request to create a tutorial.  This design and tutorial was created by Camilla Bakke  and all I did was try to convert it from centimeters to inches.  This year I have created this card for a co-worker to give her dad who's birthday actually falls on Father's Day, so to knock out two birds with one stone I am creating this card for her.  You will see how this card is perfect for a dual occasion in a moment.

Warning: Because I have added the tutorial this may be a rather long post so be prepared.   Here is a look at my card.

I used paper from a DCWV paper pack and Recollections cardstock.  They had the packs on sale at Joanne's so I picked up a few packs.  The 3-D tree I added to give it a bit of depth and my co-worker enjoys being able to feel the elements. I used Martha Steward punch to add a border and a couple of brads I colored with copic markers finishes the front of the card.

The inside of the card has two pockets that allows you many options.  Money  or gift card in one of the pockets and your personal message in the other pocket.  Since this is going to be for two occasions I decided to put a Father's Day greeting in one pocket and the birthday message in the other pocket.  Additionally there is a smaller pocket that holds a notecard for my co-worker to write her personal message on. 

Lastly, here is a photo of the card inside with the messge tags showing for a better look.  I hope this will inspire you to try it out.  I've included the tutorial on this post but you can find the original tutorial by clicking on Tutorials on my menu bar above.

Camilla's Tutorial Follows:

1.       Start with a sheet of cardstock 12 x 12 (30cm x 30cm)

2.       Fold in half on both sides to create four sections 6 x 6 (15cm x 15cm)

3.       Then cut it in half but stop in the middle as shown in the photo

4.   Next cut off a part of that section.  I cut off 2.75 so that my pocket is 3.25 tall (the more you cut off the smaller your pocket). See photo.

5.  For added decoration use a punch of your choice and punch around the edge of the pocket that is left. (the photo shows a Martha Stewart border punch being used)

6.  Now for the next pocket cut about 2 inches (3cm) leaving about 4 inches (12 cm), then measure and mark at at angle or 6 cm.

(You will be cutting this at somewhat of an angle as shown in the next photo.)

7.       Fold the pockets up and your card should look like the one in the photo when it is open.

8.       Now to decorate. Cut your CS so that it measures 1/4 less than the size of the side of your card

9.       So if your card side is 6 x 6 then you would cut your next layer at 5.75 x 5.75

10.  Then your Designer Paper (DP) or top layer would be cut at 5.5 x 5.5

11.  Ink all your edges  Now adhere all your layers together (if you plan to sew around your edges do NOT add glue to your edge! Just tape the pieces to hold them in place until after you sew them.  If you do not plan to sew then use adhesive on the edges)

12. Here is a peek at the finished inside…isn’t it gorgeous.

 Decorate the front of your card and glue all the parts together

Add your image or sentiment and any embellishments to make your card stand out and you are complete!

Thanks to Camilla for this wonderful tutorial.  Have fun with it!

Remember..."find beauty in all things and then go create your own"

Thanks  for stopping by