Paris, France 34

Happy Monday! Hope you are off to a great start of a new week! I'm fortunate to have the day off from work but I'm on the hook, waiting to check back at 10:15 am this morning to see if I need to report for the dreaded jury duty. One of my least favorite things to do! If you are here looking for my Simon Says Stamp Monday Challenge post, I don't have a project to share today because I will be sharing a tutorial on Wednesday so I sure hope you check back then :)

Today, I was playing around for fun and created this layout featuring a photo of myself that was taken several years ago in front of the magnificent Arc de Triomphe, Paris, France. 

To create texture and interest, I used the MPD Brick Wall Stencil. I outlined a few bricks to add depth and sprayed with mist for a little pink shimmer:

I was experimenting with my Ranger Melting Pot and made the butterfly embellishment shown below. Once the UTEE was dry, I popped the butterfly out of the mold, painted with white acrylic paint then applied Ranger Distress ink to highlight the detail:

I completed the layout by adhering a few manufactured blooms, including a metal one and a couple of die cut flourishes made using Die-namics Medium Leafy Flourish:

 For color and other tidbits, I joined along with the Color Stories Inspiration challenge #86:

The Scheme: Use all 5 colors (done)

Evidence: Use at least 2 clues

scallops (lace), architectural accents (brick wall stencil),  2 mediums (acrylic painted background using Gelli Arts plate, crackle coating on background, Gesso stenciled brick, embossing enamel, TA mist, TA Glam

Testimony: Journal about a city (Paris, France)

Thank you kindly for visiting ~ hope you have a great day!

Be Sweet ;)

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Thank You 37

Happy Saturday! Hope you are having a great weekend! I was feeling crafty but didn't want to make an inky mess quite yet so I pulled out some pretty patterned paper, stamps and dies and made a Thank you card. Can never have too many of these in my stash!

 I combined a pretty clock from Timeless with a fancy teapot from Always Time for Tea.

For the sentiment tag, I stamped the Thank you sentiment from Blissful Butterflies on a die cut tag made using a die from Die-namics Blueprints 2. 

For inspiration, I referred to the Moxie Fab World: Tuesday Trigger: Now that's my cup of tea! challenge. I was inspired by the word "tea" and opted to feature a teapot rather than a teacup while focusing on the pastel yellow and blue colors in the pretty inspiration photo.

Thanks so much for stopping by ~ hope you enjoy the rest of your weekend!

Be Sweet ;)

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Happy Birthday 44

Hi there! I'm so happy that I'm ahead of the game so to say :) I'm in need of a birthday card for my sweet Mother-in-Law who's birthday is in a few weeks. Let's just say she is in her young 80's which is the new 70's right? :) We were chatting a few weeks ago about the forever skyrocketing cost of college tuition and she shared with me that when she attended Dillard University, a historically private black university, more than 60 years ago, tuition ALONE was a $147 a year!!!! Quite shocking!!! I'm sure that was a lot of money back then but today, that wouldn't even pay for the $600 per semester parking permit at ASU! sigh...

I made Barbara this rather clean and simple Birthday card:

Her sorority colors were pink and green so I inked up the smaller rose from Blooming Roses with Razzle Berry ink, the leaves with Sour Apple ink and stamped my own patterned paper.

 For sketch inspiration, I joined along with Seize The Sketch challenge:

For color inspiration, I joined along with this week's Papercraft Star challenge and opted to focus on colors taken from the inspiration photo:

If you are in need of some retail therapy you're Invited to SAVE BIG at the MFT Virtual Sidewalk Sale! Save 50-75% on over 80 Die-namics, Combo Sets, and Stamp Sets. Check it out HERE and HERE.

Thanks so much for visiting!
Be Sweet ;)

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Laugh...AMMCC6 35

Hi there! Hope you are all ready for the weekend ~ I know I am! It's time for an all new Mixed Media Color Challenge. Thanks so much to all who joined along with challenge #5 ~ there were so many beautiful projects in the gallery and thanks to all of you who take time to leave such kind and considerate comments :) For nearly the next two weeks, we will be playing with the following color combination:

For my sample, I used an 11" x 14" canvas board to create a layout featuring one of my favorite photos of my sweet sister Tina and I:

I used a variety of embellishments including one of the beautifully hand crocheted flowers made by sweet Tina that is layered under the pretty pink flower:

The resin cherub embellishment nestled up top under a flower embellishment reminds me of our guardian angels that I KNOW watches over us and keeps us safe as we ride our bikes along the crazy roads throughout the city:

I painted the chipboard elements with silver paint then added a layer of Ranger Rock Candy but I think it was too old because it barely added a crackle effect :(

This canvas has sooooo many layers I can't even begin to count them! I first started by collaging printed Ranger tissue paper down which you can't even see now, then I added lots of ink, paint, texture and stamped images. Peeking out under all those layers are stamped images from Collage Backgrounds and Distressed Background Blocks:  

The stenciled detail was added using the Petal Pattern stencil:

For sketch inspiration, I joined along with the Skissedilla sketch challenge:

Thanks so much for taking the time to visit ~ I hope I have inspired you to mix things up! Please hop on over to A Mixed Media Color Challenge for COMPLETE details on how to join in the fun and for some awesome inspiration from Sue!
Be Sweet ;)

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