My Paper Creations

life can get messy

I mentioned before that I missed working for Lili of the Valley.  This past winter and spring were just so hectic with family stuff that I didn't really feel like stamping at all.  My mojo completely left me and I had no desire to create cards.  I did still create the occasional card for my design team requirements and I enjoyed it when I sat down to create, but I never felt the desire to do it just for fun.  I ended up leaving a couple design teams during that time as well.  (I left for personal reasons and it was no reflection on the companies.  I still love both companies and the owners of all were wonderful to work for!)  The desire to stamp and create cards didn't really come back at all until last month.  I finally wanted to stamp again!  I think I just needed a break from it for a while. 

Lili of the Valley was one of those teams that I left last winter.  I regret now that I left, but it was something I needed to do at the time.  I will continue to use their adorable stamps even if I'm not designing for them because I love them!  They are always some of my favorite stamps to use.  Maybe some day, I might get the chance to design for them again.  If not, I will still use and love their stamps.  Oh, and they have a new release of Christmas stamps coming out next week that look so cute! :)

Anyway, I thought the sentiment on this card was the perfect chance to talk a little bit more about why I left some design teams since I mentioned something about it a week or two ago.  I didn't want anyone thinking that it had anything to do with the companies.

This cute little image is from illustrator Mo Manning.  It's called Buskettie and comes with the sentiment if you purchase the rubber version from Stamping Bella.  You can get it here from Simon Says Stamp.  I colored the image with copic markers, but I didn't write the markers down this time.  Sorry!  The corregated stars are from Close to My Heart and the buttons were from my stash.

Have a great day!

Niki

life gets messy card supplies:
Stamps: Buskettie (Stamping Bella)
Cardstock: X-Press It (Copic), dark orange
Patterned Paper: A Boy's Life (Echo Park)
Ink: Tuxedo Black Memento (Tsukineko)
Embellishments: corrugated stars (Close to My Heart), buttons, twine
Dies: circle nestability dies (Spellbinders)
Copic Markers

birthday girl

I had the chance earlier this week to play along with the current Wild Orchid Crafts challenge which is to use pearls and pins on our cards.  This was a great challenge for me because I've had these pins for years and I don't know if I've ever used them!  They look pretty, but I always worry about them poking the person who receives the card! lol  I was able to avoid that, however, because I poked them through the paper behind the bow so the end is covered and the card is safe to handle!

The cute little image on my card is a Mo Manning image called Ruby available through Stamping Bella and the sentiment is from my Butterfly Dreams stamp set.  The flowers are white cherry blossoms from Wild Orchid Crafts.  Aren't they pretty?  I just love cherry and apple blossoms. 

Here's the copic markers used to color the image:
skin: E000, E00, E21, R12
hair and bag: E33, E35, E37
dress, hat, and shoes: R00, R02
tights: E51, E53
necklace: RV29

Okay, I am off to pick my son up from school.  Have a great rest of the day!

Niki

Supplies
Stamps: Ruby (Stamping Bella), Butterfly Dreams (Papertrey Ink)
Cardstock: white (Papertrey Ink), pink (Prism)
Patterned Paper: Tres Jolie (My Mind's Eye)
Ink: tuxedo black (memento), peach pastel (colorbox)
Accents: vintage cream satin ribbon (Papertrey Ink), white cherry blossoms (Wild Orchid Crafts), stick pins (CTMH), pearls
Tools: copic markers, rectangle nestability die (Spellbinders) circle punches, sewing machine, branch punch (Martha Stewart), sponge

Bella Birffffday Blog Skip, Hop, and Dance!

Welcome to the Birthday Blog Skip, Hop & Dance sponsored by Stamping Bella! If you've just happened upon my blog, you can CLICK HERE to start from the beginning at Bloggabella.  Happy Birthday, Emily!!!  Hope you have a great day!

When I read about the Bella Birthday blog hop, I had to join in the fun!  It's been way too long since I paid with one of these cuties!

 

Partygirlabella is the perfect image to wish Emily a happy birthday and one of my personal favorite Bellas so I had to use her on my card.  I paired her with some October Afternoon Detours patterned papers and colored my image with copic markers in coordinating colors.

 

I used some dimensional glaze to make the balloons nice and shiny and finished off my card with some layered buttons and a large Prima flower.

As if you need another incentive besides checking out some beautiful cards, there's even a prize up for grabs just for commenting on the participants' cards.

How about a prize? In addition to the fabulous eye candy, we have decided to hide a prize somewhere along the hop! One pre-selected blogger will draw a random winner from the comments on her post, and the winner will receive a $40 Gift Voucher to Stamping Bella!!! The fun part is...we're not telling you who it is! So as you hop, make sure you leave comments on every post so you have a chance to win!! We will announce the winner on Monday in the Splitcoast forum. MWAH!

Thanks so much for stopping by! Next up in the blog hop is Kathy. 

Happy Hopping!

Niki

Recipe
Stamps: Partygirlabella (Stamping Bella), Birthday Basics (Papertrey Ink)
Cardstock: white, true black (Papertrey Ink), Pacific Point (SU)
Patterned Paper: Detours (October Afternoon)
Accents: flower (Prima Marketing), buttons, brads
Tools: copic markers, dimensional glaze (Ranger), sewing machine, scalloped scallop border punch (SK Success), embroidery floss