MFT Happy Hedgehogs and a Sketch Challenge

Hi everyone!! I hope you all had a FABULOUS week. Mine went by fast. Having a day off and then mid term exams will do that to time.

I had a bit of time in my craft room, something that I am "scheduling" into my days so that I MAKE time to do what I love. I have to do this with working out, reading and crafting these days or I won't do it. I have the working out routine down pat and the reading before I go to bed BUT my crafting is always set aside for other things. Making cards and scrapbooking is what makes me happy so if I don't have time, I get cranky!! If I am not crafting, I am coloring in stamped images in when I watch television with my family.

It is so hard to fit in everything you want, isn't it? I plan to add a refresher class in Illustrator soon too. There needs to be more hours in the day or I need to learn to live with limited sleep!

Today I am posting a card I created using My Favorite Things "Happy Hedgehog" stamps/dies. They have been sitting in my box of my stuff to use so I decided to play. Who wouldn't want a cute hedgehog card?

My inspiration for this card is sketch #316 from the MFT Card Challenge Blog. It came together so easily too, which almost never happens!!

I started off by stamping and die cutting the hedgehog, stump and mushroom from the MFT "Happy Hedgehog" set. I then colored the images in with Copic markers.

I attempted to do lines in different colors for a fur effect, as well as make bark on the tree. I think it looks kind of neat. I used a colorless blender for the the effect on top of the acorn. I added some Glossy Accents over certain areas and then set the critter aside to dry.

In the meantime, I covered a white, A2 top folding card with patterned paper from the MFT "Painted Prints Citrus" pad that I had die cut using the "Blueprints # 25" die. I added a white, stitched circle in between the two pattern papers that I had die cut using the MFT "Stitched Circle Frame."

The images were dry by then and I layered the them over my circle, along with the sentiment banner. I then made a HUGE mistake, which just kills me. I should have known better!! I went to darken up the eyes and nose on the hedgehog with a black gel pen and made a large smudge. I didn't want to throw the image away as I had spent a lot of time coloring it in. I added some google eyes to cover it up. Sometimes you have to do what you have to do, right?

My last step was to add a few Pretty Pink Posh sequins around the stamped images.

I am also entering this into Darnell's NBUS Challenge #8. The "Happy Hedgehogs" were new to me AND I used the new technique of doing the bark and the fur.

I thank you for taking the time to stop by today. I hope you have a great day!!

Supplies:

Stamps-MFT "Happy Hedgehogs"

Dies-MFT "Blueprints #25," "Happy Hedgehogs," and "Stitched Circle Frames"

Paper-Neenah Solar White, MFT "Painted Prints Citrus," and Bazzill "Daisy"

Ink-Memento "Tuxedo Black" and PaperTrey Ink "Smokey Shadow"

Other-Copic Markers, Glossy Accents, Pretty Pink Posh Sequins, Foam Adhesive, Ranger Multi-Matte

MFT Sketch Challenge #289, MFT Camp Create-Fantastic Foiling and a Busy Monday!

Hello everyone!! It was an EXTREMELY hot and humid day here today. A huge storm front went through and cooled the temperature off a little bit but it still remains very humid. Not my favorite weather!!

I have had very busy Monday at this point and am very tired. I got up early to go to the gym because I had a breakfast date with a friend. I LOVE summers!! I then came home, had time to throw in some wash and clean the bathroom. I put up some new organizers I bought at IKEA on Sunday. I took a quick photo with my phone. (Excuse the quality-something is wrong with it and the photos are all blurry!!)

I even had a chance to take my shower curtain down and wash it. You know you are old when something like that excites you!!

After my breakfast date, I came home and made manicotti shells for what was supposed to be our dinner. However, my breakfast did not sit well and so we are going to have it tomorrow. I even had enough shells to make an extra pan to freeze!

I know, I know, weird to make manicotti in the middle of the summer but I am getting kind of tired of grilled food. I HATE to cook in general but when I do, I have to do as much from scratch as I can.

While the shells were cooling, I cut up a bag of lemons, juiced them, grated their rinds, as well as juiced a bag of limes to make some home made sour mix for margaritas.

I then froze it until this weekend. Yes, it stays in the fridge but I don't like to chance things!!! Char and the dog kept me company while I was doing all this.

We bought tickets for the band Twenty One Pilots for January-Charlotte's 16th Birthday Present (her birthday is in December)-for Chris, Charlotte and I so we cooked along to some music.

Now for my REAL reason for posting!! I was a crazy woman yesterday in the craft room. I did a bunch of cleaning up AND had time to create some projects for My Favorite Things Camp Create -Fantastic Foiling and the MFT Sketch Challenge #289.

 

I combined the two challenges and created two cards. For my first card, I kept it to a black and white color scheme with the foiling being in silver and mint green.

I had NEVER foiled before and I have to say, it was kind of fun. However, I have a regular old laminator and I think I am going to break down and get a mini Minc. I don't know it if it was the toner paper I used, the die cutting or what but on all my foils, I have bits that just would not foil.

I used patterned paper scraps, as well as the MFT "Wild Prints" paper for the accent behind the foiled sentiment, which was die cut using MFT's "Celebratory Greetings" dies (retired.)

I have to say, I LOVE that "Wild Prints" paper pack and thought it was perfect for this card!!

I made the second card using the same patterned paper cut with a die from "Blueprints 13" but changed it up by using a "Red Hot" card base. I am not a designer for MFT (I wish!!) and get no compensation but out of any dies I own, I use this particular Blueprints die more then any other die in my stash.

The foil on this sentiment was very imperfect and I did try to mask the imperfection but it did not work.

I added a bit of black glitter tape behind the sentiment to make it pop out but I would not recommend doing this at all. I had a difficult time getting the "cheers" to stick to the glitter!

Well, that is all for today. Thank you for stopping by. I will be back tomorrow with some of the other cards I created for Camp Create.

I am always great at making the cards but HORRIBLE at taking the time to photograph them!!!

Supplies:
Paper-Card Stock-MFT-"Red Hot," "Black Licorice" Patterned Paper-MFT-"Wild Prints," Doodlebug Design, Icraft Toner Paper
Foil-I Craft "Silver Foil" and Heidi Swapp "Mint Foil"
Dies-MFT "Blueprints 13" and "Celebratory Greetings" (retired), Paper Smooches "Stars"
Other-Foam Adhesive, Big Shot, Recollections Black Glitter Tape, Darice Sequins, Silver Stickles

MFT Sketch Challenge #236

Happy Sunday! I hope everyone is enjoying their summer. This past week was a bit busy with a mess of doctors appointments. I try to do my major once a year visits in the summer because during the school year it is so hard to get there.

I have been trying to straighten up my craft room but I have to tell you, how do you purge? I just cannot do it. I see all these people put up their stuff for sale but every time I put a pile a side, I wind up taking one thing out, then another, and another...until nothing is left to give away. I do tend to use certain stamp sets over and over but then I go back and pull others out for sentiments that I like etc... I am lucky enough to have a whole room but I do not use the space to my advantage. Anyone want to come over and help me clean? What I put aside, you can take and then I won't be able to second guess myself!

Another thing I have been playing around with this week is my Zig watercolor markers. I can admit that I am NOT the best at using them and it will be a large learning curve for me. One of the images I used to color them with is from My Favorite Things "Penguins in Paradise" stamp set. I decided to use the image for MFT's Sketch Challenge #236.

I originally stamped a different image to paint but because I was impatient with drying time, the colors ran into each other and so I started painting this image instead. I used distress ink on the background to create a "sky" and some "sand" to make the penguin a bit more grounded.

I cut the image out with an MFT pierced circle die when everything was dry and put it aside. I then embossed and die cut a piece of PTI Hawaiian Shore's card stock and layered it onto a top folding A2 card that I created out of MFT Berrylicious card stock. Next I die cut a piece of white card stock and stamped a sentiment from the same stamp set. I adhered that into the middle of the card to match the placement from the sketch.

Next I adhered the banner that I cut out of patterned acetate. I thought the pink polka dots would look good with the penguins cheeks.

Using foam adhesive, I adhered the circle over the banner and then added the sequins. My last step was to cover the floaty in clear Wink of Stella and cover it with Glossy Accents. I think this penguin is so cute!!

I will continue to experiment with the Zig Clean markers, as well as pull out some of my other painting mediums to try. I have to admit that I am not great at "experimenting" though. I only get to spend so much time crafting and hate when my projects do not come out. Am I the only one?

I appreciate you taking the time to stop by my blog today. I hope you have a great night!!

Supplies:

InLinkz.com