Fabulous Floral

Hi Friends,
   Today I have a couple of cards that I made with images I colored during The Daily Marker 30 Day Coloring Challenge Road Show at Hero Arts in Richmond, CA.  It was such a fun day filled with new friends, great tips & tricks, plus lot's of laughter!

My first card was made with a stamp and die that Hero Arts generously gifted to us in our goody bag...Nasturtium's are one of my favorite flowers, so needless to say I was excited🌼

 I stepped out of my comfort zone on this one and used one of Kathy's tips...Plucking...that is where you just pluck several colors to use without planning it out...or really even thinking about it.  I plucked the red and my table mate plucked the purple.  Two colors I would have never put together on my own, but in the end I loved the combo❤

To turn my image into a card.  I embossed white card stock with a chicken wire pattern and heat embossed the hello sentiment on light gray cardstock.  It's bright and cheery and stretched me creatively...which is always a good thing!

The second card is also a floral image, Rose Stem by Hero Arts.  I used copic markers in Prawn and Light Prawn for the coloring and used another one of Kathy's tips...fill in the nooks and cranny's. That's when you add more black detail into select areas to add contrast.  I did this with a black copic multi-liner pen.  I did a soft gray shadow around the image and then fussy cut it.

Another fun little trick was to add color to the clear drops around the hello.  After I decided where the droplets would go, I put a dot of color on the paper and then glued them in place.  The color shows through the clear and you have a perfectly matched dot!

A Big Thanks to Kathy Racoosin for sharing her talent with all of us!  Have a card happy day😎

June is all about the coloring!

Hi Friends!

If you are anything like me, you are 12 days into #thedailymarker30day Coloring Challenge with @KathyRac.  I've committed to carving out a little bit of me time each day to color!  It's fun, relaxing and at the end of 30 days I'll have tons of components for future projects.

Kathy says if you practice your coloring daily you will really improve your skills and I'm beginning to see the truth in that. You can follow along with me @cardhappyone on Instagram and see what I'm coloring.  It's a busy month in my family so some days it's just a critter or two...others something floral...and occasionally I will pull together an entire card.  Here is my favorite so far....

I made an ink blended background with Distress Ink and then topped it with images from the Essentials by Ellen So Matcha stamp and die set.  I love the way it turned out SO MATCHA!!!

I invite you to carve out 10 minutes for yourself each day to color and get your Zen on!  You'll find improving your skills is just an added bonus!!  Happy coloring😊😊😊😊😊

Winner, Winner!

Hi all...A follower reminded me today that I hadn't posted the winner of my Blog Candy from the

Drum roll please....AND THE WINNER IS...Andy Granick!  Congratulations...be on the lookout for Happy Mail coming to your mailbox soon!

Coffee, Critters, and a giveaway...OH MY!

Today I'm hopping along on the Coffee Loving Card Makers Spring/Summer Blog Hop.  The theme is Spring/Summer and Coffee, of course!  I have 3 fun theme inspired cards to share with you and a give away (details at the end of this post).  So pour yourself a cup and let's get started...

The first card is all about SPRING!  I started with a pastel pink watercolor background (sorry it's hard to see it in the photo).  I cheated and used My Favorite Things Watercolor Wash patterned paper!  Next I added a circle die cut with MFT's Inside and Out Stitched Circle from MFT Bundles of Blossoms Brights patterned paper. Finally, I added a sweet little bunny and sentiment from Memory Box that I stamped in black and heat embossed with WOW clear embossing powder that I had quick colored with Copic Markers. I adhered all of that atop an A2 base cut from Ellen's Essential Cardstock in Slate Gray that I cut using Dotted Rectangle Stackables.  I'm thinking this card is definitely my cup of Tea!!!

For the second card I focused on Summer!  Summer makes me think of picnics and a red gingham tablecloth, so I started with a rectangle of MFT Tiny Checks Bright patterned paper and for my critter on this one I chose this cutie from Tree Farm from Ellen Hutson.  The sentiment in the sign is from Hot Mess Lady also from Ellen Hutson and I added some polka dots with a Barn Door Distress Marker.  I also incorporated 3 different Washi tapes and a strip of white cardstock to finish this one.

The final card is all about the COFFEE!...and that little bear of course!  My highly caffeinated bear is from the stamp set All Inside by Julie Ebersole, his thermos is from Tree Farm by Brandi Kincaid, and his little mug with a steamy heart is from Sock Monkey Surprise...all from Ellen Hutson. I created the background on Kraft cardstock using a cute little O Frap! coffee stamp from Art Impressions stamped in Dark Chocolate ink from Altenew.  I then did a quick color on the labels and lids using copic markers and finished with clusters of dots.  I toyed with the idea of adding a sentiment, but in the end wanted the cute little critter to stand alone!

I hope you are now thirsty for inspiration (and coffee) and will take some time to check out all the projects and great sponsors over on THE HOP! 

 To qualify for my giveaway follow me @cardhappyone on Instagram.  

One new follower will be chosen at random to receive a Hero Arts Shades of Gray ink cube set valued @ 9.99 plus a few fun surprises💕 (total value $25) The winner will be announce on my Instagram on Friday, June 8th...so follow now!

Inspired by all the little things

I am currently obsessed with challenge blogs and recently stumbled across two new ones that I wanted to share with you...I hope you take a moment to check them out!

The first is from Concord & 9th and is called Where Creativity meets C9 .  They post a new challenge on the 9th of each month.  Their current challenge is floral and you'll find plenty of inspiration in all the designers samples.

The second one is Inspired by All the Little Things and it is a bi-weekly challenge. The current challenge is floral as well.  I love their inspiration photo and look forward to seeing what comes next month!

I found similar inspiration in my own backyard...(and although my photography skills do this gorgeous rose justice)... I think you'll be able to see the color inspiration in the project I'm sharing today.

I used the Wreath Turnabout from Concord & 9th and Catherine Pooler Ink on Desert Storm cardstock.  I added the lines onto the leaves with a fine point green sharpie and then stamped the sentiment on a die cut stitched circle from MFT.  I attached it to the wreath with some Scrapbook Adhesive Foam Squares for a bit of added dimension.

note: After looking a my pictures, I realized my circle was slightly off and have since repositioned that.  All part of the learning process...😁 

Thanks for stopping by and I hope you find some inspiration that sparks your creativity today!
Hugs and happy crafting ❥❣❥

Flowers & Smiles for Mother's Day!

Happy Saturday!  Today I created two cards for the MFT Color Challenge #93...just in time for Mother's Day🎕.

I was inspired by the MFT color challenge and used as many MFT products as possible.  I used the Bold Blooms set to stamp the background for one card on Ellen Hutson Oyster cardstock and the dies to cut flowers from the Tiny Check Brights 6x6 paper pad on Ellen Hutson Black cardstock for the second. The 100 lb. weight of these cardstocks is awesome!

I used the Smile dienamics for the sentiment.  I cut the word smile from both the grass cardstock and the tiny checks lavender paper and then swapped them in the negative space...It's a Two For...love that!

These are versatile products that I can see myself using over and over again in so many ways...  which is something I always take into consideration when purchasing stamps (especially if I'm investing in the dies as well).  I want my crafting dollar to stretch as far as it can 😛😳!

 I hope these projects brought a smile to your face and that you enjoy a wonderful Mothers Day full of Smiles, Love and Hugs!

Chevron Cover Plate...Let me count the ways

Buckle up and hold on to your hat because today I'm showing you how to use one cover plate to make multiple cards for multiple occasions.  I love it when one die can be the base for endless creativity!  I'm using a Chevron Cover Plate in my example, but there are lots of cover plates that you could use to create a similar effect.

I started out with various colors of 4-1/2 x 5-1/4 colored cardstock which I die cut with the cover plate.  I saved all the chevron pieces to use later...you'll see why.  In example below I have adhered the cover plate cut out to the same color of cardstock.  It is a great monochromatic base for all types of cards.

I also thought it would be fun to use some patterns when filling in the chevrons so here I used both some of the matching solids and coordinating plaid chevrons cut from Lawn Fawn's Perfectly Plaid Spring patterned paper. I placed them into the negative space skipping every other chevron...I also skipped the row where I had decided to place my sentiment.  I cut a flag from the same paper, a Pretty Pink Posh Stitched Hexagon from white card stock, and the word hello from the Wplus9. 

 I layered all my components together adhering them with Ranger Multi Medium Matte (which I transferred into a fine tip bottle) and finished it with a few black Nuvo Drops.

In this next example, I used the chevrons from various colors of cardstock and arranged them in an angled stripe.  I cut the word Congrats and a graduate out of Essentials by Ellen Slate Gray cardstock

to make a graduation card for my nephew. 

Here is another example using Dots and Stripe patterned paper from MFT and the Awesome die from Neat and Tangled. 

In this example I adhered a sheet of patterned paper behind the cover plate...added the word smile on a dotted flag and finished it with Nuvo drops.

For this next one...I used two shades of gray with a few turquoise chevrons, a script hello and Nuvo drops.  I think you could do a great masculine birthday card by just swapping out the sentiment👨🎈.

So many possibilities using one cover plate.  I hope this inspires you to try to use your cover plates in different ways...you'll be so glad you did.  Hugs and have a great day!