Whew – the first week of January 2011 has really flown by! I think we are settling back into our routine – though I went around all day yesterday thinking it was the 5th instead of the 6th!  Since today is the 7th, it’s time for another Tiffany Doodles monthly challenge!  This time we’re featuring a fabulous sketch – thanks Jenyfur!  I used Tiffany’s fabulous Dancing Dress digital stamp and an awesome paper pack from g.c.d called Ella Blue – I LOVE this paper!!! I employed a few “new-to-me” techniques with this card. The brown card base was too light, so with the help of my Ranger Tea Stain Distress pad it transformed into the perfect shade – not too light or too dark.  Then, I couldn’t find my brown satin ribbon, so I used Ranger Espresso Alcohol ink to dye some cream satin ribbon to match my paper…oh my – I don’t know why I haven’t done this before – so easy and WOW results!  The bow is tied using a handy tutorial from Diana Gibbs using a fork – in this case one of my large serving forks since I haven’t cur the bow-easy type SVG file yet.  I didn’t have the right blue cs for matting, so I took a scrap of Very Vanilla and used my Weathered Wood distress pad to turn cream into blue – again – so easy and very happy with the results. The “designer label” sentiment panel is one of Stampin’ Up’s digital images brought into Photoshop and altered a bit, printed and then hand cut. The dress was printed on white cs and then painted with Twinkling H2Os. I cut it out after the paint was dry, edged it with my black Stampin’ Write marker, and pop-dotted it onto my card. I LOVE the shimmer in these paints! Here’s a close-up of the sparkle:

Recipe:

• Stamps: Tiffany Doodles Dancing Dress
• Ink: HP LaserJet;  Twinkling H2O; SU Black Stampin’ Write Marker; Ranger Espresso Alcohol Ink; Ranger Weathered Wood and Tea Dye Distress Inks
• Paper: Georgia Pacific White; SU Very Vanilla; g.c.d Ella Blue DP; Brown from stash
• Other: Tombow Mono Adhesive; Elmer’s Glue Dots; Satin Ribbon; Adhesive Pearls
• Tools: Fiskars Paper Trimmer; MS Crafts Score Board; Big Shot; SU Scissors; Paint Brush; Photoshop

Overall – I’m very happy with the results – I love it when a project comes together! Speaking of projects – Tiffany has a brand new storefront! You’ll love the ease of shopping! The Tiffany Doodles blog is still active – that’s where we’ll host our challenges and showcase all sorts of creative ventures – I do hope you’ll join us!

That’s about all from me – remember to visit the Tiffany Doodles blog and join us for this month’s challenge.  You could win up to 7 digital stamps from the Tiffany Doodles store.  You don’t have to use a Tiffany Doodles image, but we’d love it if you did.

Have a great weekend!

Good Morning!  This week has flown by for us – we’ve returned to preschool but are still adjusting back to our routine.  Nadya did well – I was concerned we would have more separation issues, but she didn’t shed a tear.

I don’t have a project for you today, but I did want to let you know about the RETIREMENT SALE at MyGrafico.  Lindsay and the other designers are retiring several products to make room for more creations – which means you SAVE!  All retiring products are $1.00, but don’t tarry – after Sunday they’ll be gone.

If you haven’t already been to Lindsay’s Blog be sure to stop by – she’ll have a freebie, inspiration galore, and the links to the other DT blogs.

Have a FABULOUS day!

Welcome to the first Doodle Pantry Challenge and Release of 2011! Laurie has once again provided us with more adorable digital stamps to create with.  You can preview the entire new release here.  I LOVE her new Love Birdies set – one of the perks of being on the Doodle Pantry DT is that I get to play with the new images – so of course I chose Love Birdies! 

I started out using my Prismacolor watercolor pencils and an ArtKure water brush. After the initial color lay-down, I used Sanford Liquid Metals watercolors in white pearl to add accent around the birdies.  After everything had dried, I used one of my favorite products, my Windsor-Newton Iridescent Medium to apply more shimmer to the heart and the roof. Another round of drying time, and I could trim the image.  I opted to remove the rope and hanger that came with the image so I could use adhesive pearls to create a chain.  The card base is embossed with a Sizzix Heart Texture Plate. The mat is white shimmer cardstock embossed with a CB folder.  After I adhered everything together, I coated the flowers in Gelly Roll clear ink and added the Stickles heart to the note.  Red adhesive pearls finished off the look.

Recipe:

• Stamps: Doodle Pantry Love Birdies
• Ink: HP LaserJet;  Prismacolor Watercolor Pencils
• Paper: Georgia Pacific White; Red and Shimmer White from Stash
• Other: Tombow Mono Adhesive; Elmer’s Glue Dots; Ribbons; Spellbinders Nestabilities Dies; Cuttlebug Hearts Embossing Folder, SU Hearts Texture Plate; Stickles, Iridescent Medium
• Tools: Fiskars Paper Trimmer; MS Crafts Score Board; Big Shot; SU Scissors; Paint Brush

If you love Love Birdies as much as I do, you can WIN the entire set! All you have to do is join us for our 1st challenge of 2011 (DPDC5) – create a project with any Doodle Pantry image as your focal point and post it to our challenge blog – you’ll win Love Birdies just for participating!  If you don’t have any Doodle Pantry images, check out the freebie section and the new grab bag – 4 different sets available at discount prices. These sets will change out after the 20th – so you don’t want to miss out.  Also, with any purchase, Laurie is offering her Love Sentiments digital stamp set for free. So what are you waiting for?!?! Show us your Doodle Pantry creations!

Have a FABULOUS week!