OCC Background Check Day 2!

Well, I finally got to Day 2 for Online Card Class's Background Check. I wish you could see the design in the background, but I guess you'll take my word for it!

Day 2 we learned about the ink resist technique, among other things. Following Jennifer McGuire's instructions, I spritzed a stamp with water that had some Perfect Pearls added to it. Then when I stamped it, the image appeared with a bit of white glistening showing in the image of the stamp. It's so cool! I'm just sorry you can't see it in this picture. I think you can see a some of it in the bottom piece if you look hard enough. I used Tim Holtz' Distress Inks in Blueprint Sketch and Peacock Feathers for the background.

Day 3 was when we added the sentiment. This one is from Simon Says Stamps, and I used it in a recent card for Day 1-3 homework.

I'll be posting another card on Saturday, after we have Day 6 of the class, unless I have great inspiration in the meantime.

I'm so glad you stopped by today! I appreciate your comments and visits, and I hope to see you again real soon ~

OCC Background Check Days 1-3

Hello everybody! How's your day? The weather is sunny and very hot where I live, so I'm staying in and creating cards. Nothin' better!

At the last minute, I joined in on Online Card Classes' Background Check. (Did I put that apostrophe in the right place?) They were already on Day 2 by the time I joined, so I had some homework to catch up on. That's why I'm posting the first three days worth of homework at one time.

The first day we created backgrounds with Tim Holtz' Distress Inks. I used a variety of colors, including Mustard Seed, Cracked Pistachio and Salty Ocean. For my first card, I covered the entire piece of cardstock with Distress Inks. The ribbon is from Stephanie Barnard's Stamps of Life Card Kit Club. I was amazed how well it matched! The sentiment is from a stamp set I received as a gift, and I'm not sure what company it is from.

Day 3 we finished the cards using the sponged cardstock we had created in Day 1. (Day 2 we learned about stamping techniques such as plaid stamping, using Dye and Pigment Inks, and ink resist. I still have to post my card showing ink resist.)

For my second card, I used the same three colors but only sponged them in the center of the piece of cardstock. That left me room for an image and a sentiment within the colored area.

The image and sentiment is from The Ton. I've had a lot of fun with those Pandas!

Isn't he cute? lol In case you can't read it, the sentiment says "sending you hugs and happy thoughts." I love this, and I plan to send it to one of my two sons. My oldest is in Missouri, and my youngest lives in Glendale, California, close to Los Angeles. I don't see them often enough, so I send them cards.

This card is probably my favorite. Using Tim Holtz Distress Inks in Salty Ocean, Peacock Feathers, Mustard Seed, Spiced Marmalade and Festive Berries I created this ocean scene. The sentiment, from Simon Says Stamps, says "Sending Prayers & Love" -- definitely another one for my boys! The boat is from Lawn Fawn's Float My Boat stamp set.

All three of these cards follows lessons by Laura Basson on Day 1 and 3. I have one more card to show you that's actually from Day 2's lesson by Jennifer McGuire, but I haven't quite finished it yet. I have the background done, but I'm not sure what to do with it next to create a good card! Yikes!

If you're in the class, please stop for a minute and let me know you're here in the comments! I love meeting classmates!

Thank you for stopping by today. I appreciate your visits and comments very much, and I hope to see you again real soon ~

Pan-Mass Challenge Bike Ride

Hi everybody!!! Hope you had a good weekend. I had family visiting (my nephew and his fiance) so it was full of fun. They were here all week, and we made sure to fill every day with adventure.

Today's card has extra special meaning. My brother, Craig Underwood, has entered the 84-mile Pan-Mass Challenge Bike Ride in Boston, Massachusetts. He's riding in honor of me and in memory of a friend of his who passed away last year. I am a Thyroid Cancer survivor, and this bike ride is to raise money for Cancer research. I'm so proud of my brother for taking on this challenge. He's training every day and has been for most of the last year. I'm honored he would do this in my name.

(I've looked for a picture of Craig in my picture folder, but sadly, I don't have one of him by himself.)

With all that training, I felt Craig deserved a handmade card to give him a boost before the big day. The images are from Stephanie Barnard's Stamps of Life. I colored the bike with Copic Markers, and I also decorated the inside of the card but you can't see it. If you look closely, you can see I added a black ribbon on the bike handle. He deserves a ribbon for riding his bike 84 miles!!!

Prayers are welcome during this event on August 1, 2015. If you'd like to make a donation to the Pan-Mass Challenge, I've linked the name to their website. It's definitely for a good cause, but please don't feel any pressure. This is just FYI in case you were interested.

Thank you for stopping by today! I appreciate your comments and visits very much, and I hope to see you again soon ~

SSS Birthday Stamps

Hello!!! How's your weekend been? Almost over, and probably really over by the time you read this!

I had a Birthday last week, and I was blessed to get this free Birthday stamp set from Simon Says Stamps.  It came free with a purchase, of course, but I found some supplies I needed to go along with it. I love the set...so much fun! The stars were part of it, and I enjoyed using the various sizes included.

I heat embossed the image and sentiment in VersaFine Black Ink and then I added the stars in Gina K Design's Turquoise Sea. The ribbon came from Stephanie Barnard's Stamps of Life, but the cardstock is all Gina K. I thought the two worked well together. I colored the image with Copic markers.

This was the second attempt to create a card. I had first used a star stencil with glistening glitter paste in that turquoise color, but it was way too overwhelming. Beautiful, but overwhelming for the little elephant. Stamping the stars worked better.

Thanks for stopping by today! I appreciate your comments and visits very much, and I hope to see you again real soon ~

Butterflies!

Hello! How are you today? Hope you had a good weekend!

Sizzix had a sale recently that I just couldn't ignore. I found several sets from Stephanie Barnard's Stamps of Life that were stamps with dies included that I had to have, and this butterfly set was one of them. What fun! The background paper is also from SOL in a monthly card kit that I receive. All the kits have wonderful 6 x 6 pads of paper, a stamp set, a die, ribbon and more. It's quite a bargain! I layered the butterflies and also the background paper. I used Green Jellybean and Navy ink but decided to leave off the sentiment until I decide who the card will go to.

This was a fun card to create. Nothing like butterflies on a hot summer day to bring a smile to your face.

Thank you for stopping by today. I appreciate your comments and visits very much, and I hope to see you again real soon ~

Hello!

Hello! How are you today? I hope everybody had a good Fourth of July holiday!

I stayed inside most of the time creating, avoiding thunder storms. Fortunately, the weather wasn't too bad for fireworks; I stayed out of the traffic by watching those on television. Better seat!

Today's card was created using Hennah Elements by The Ton, and just like last time I used these stamps, I brought out the watercolors. What fun! The background paper I used behind the doily is from Stamps of Life Card Kit Club. Every month you get a pack of paper, stamps, dies, ribbon and more. My papers are now all mixed up because I keep pulling some out of every pack, so I can't tell you which month this paper came from. It's all good! The sentiment is a die from Stampin Up!

Thank you for stopping by today. I appreciate your comments and visits very much, and I hope to see you again real soon ~