Butterfly + Sprite = A Wonderful Delight!!

Well, Mitzi of Aurora Wings had been at it again.

This time she has drawn a new insect Sprite.

It's available in her shop today. And there are actually TWO images 

for the price of one! That's right, two butterflies are always better than one.

Mitzi has generously included the fancy version, with more wing detailing,

and a version with less wing details. Nice, right?

The image is available HERE.

As is my usual style, I went with a rather unusual color palette 

for my butterfly. I matched my coloring up with a paper pad from 

KaiserCraft called, 'Violet Crush'. How could I pass up the perfect

 opportunity to use this gorgeous butterfly paper?

I pulled the colors from the Violet and Red Violet Copic families.

Some of my favorite color families, by the way.

They matched perfectly with the papers for a flawless coupling.

Since I never choose conventional flesh tones for my Sprites, and

I had already used the purples and pink tones for the wings and outfit,

I was left with black for my actual skin tone. And when looking at 

actual butterflies (and the ones on the paper) it seemed the right choice.

And I have always been partial to purple and black together.

Must be my inner Goth...   

I used a new stitched circle die to cut out my Sprite,

and layered it onto a scalloped circle die cut and a black

doily. I edged the doily with silver Stickles for my necessary bling,

and to match the Stardust pen I used on the wing details 

(since my white Posca pen took a dirt nap half way through),

and the silver foiling on the strip of background paper.

I also heat embossed "hello" with silver embossing powder to

keep everything matchy matchy.

Lastly, I used a piece of satin lacy trim behind the main image

for more interest and texture.

I had to add some kind of background around the Sprite

for contrast, so I used some Toner Copics in a dotting

technique, and then muted it with a colorless blender pen.

I also added some white dots with my trusty Gellyroll pen,

and few Stardust dots, too.

I am loving how this one turned out! Super cute and in my favorite

color scheme! I may be hanging onto this one for myself.

Be sure to pop by the Aurora Wings Showcase blog to see all of the

stunning samples for this new sweetie.

And maybe even stop by the Aurora Wings Etsy shop to pick up this

gorgeous and versatile image. And remember, it's a two-fer!

  I'd like to enter this card in the following challenges:

Tuesday Taggers - I Believe I Can Fly 

Tuesday Throwdown - #300 Fairies and Fantasy

Make My Monday - Fairies

Corrosive Challenges - Lots of Layers

Aurora Wings B+W+ One Color

The new challenge at Aurora Wings begins today.

The new theme is 

Black, White, and One Color.   

I struggled a bit at first because I always think of vibrant colors when 

I think of Aurora Wings images. I ended up going with a color I don't

always use and picked my Blue Violet Copics as my color choice.

I typically reach for Yellow Greens, Violets, and Red Voilets, so this

was a nice departure for me.     

I chose to work with a cropped version of 

Crimson Wings. I love this image, but found it a bit

intimidating with all of her beautiful details. I find a cropped

version to be less intimidating and less difficult to work

into a card design. I usually print out my images quite large (4" x 6")

so I can see them and work with them easier. Then I have a hard time 

making a card smaller than 5" x 7". I'm sure I make it way more 

complicated than it actually is, but I am very happy with how the

cropped versions are working for me. Just another perk to using digi

images. Such versatility in sizing and cropping. 

Once I had chosen my one color, I used my Neutral Grays to 

color in the hair and shade the skin tones. Then, I had to come up

with a complimentary paper. Yikes! I lucked out and pulled out

an older paper pad from Me and My Big Ideas of black and white papers.

I colored the mainly gray scale background paper using BV Copics 

to make it all cohesive. I popped some rarely used Dark Blue Stickles

into the middle of the flowers to add some bling. I have to have some bling

ya know. Then I watched three different You Tube videos on how to use my

Bow Easy before I mastered that bow. Geesh! I feel so dense and 'sausage-fingery'

sometimes! But in the end I persevered and a little bow was born. 

Be sure to pop over to the AW challenge blog and see how the other talented

DT members interpreted this fun and inspiring challenge.      

And then the jelly fish said....

I have been dying to play along with one of the 

Lawnscaping challenges. I love the themes and I have had some 

Lawn Fawn stamps on my wish list for ages now.

I finally grabbed a couple of them, the jelly fish set being one of them.

I also go the jack-a-lope, but I'll save him for another time.

The current theme for Lawnscaping is 'Off Kilter!'.

I have always considered myself to be a bit off kilter anyway, 

but they want to see one or more elements set at an angle.

So, this is what I can up with.

Now, the jellies are adorable all by themselves, but I 

wanted to convey a bit of my 'off kilter' personality as well.

Hence, the silly sentiment.

I colored the jellies with Copics, and added some Stickles to the coral

printed on the designer paper from Kaiser Craft. I printed the sentiment

out myself onto some sparkly paper and shazam! We're done! 

This is going out in the mail today for my FIL for Father's Day.

He'll get a kick out of it, I'm sure.  

I'd like to enter this card in the following challenges:
Lawnscaping Challenges - Off Kilter

Marker POP! - Father's Day

Come and Get It Challenges - Weird/whimsical 

Alice in Wonderland Mixed Media

I have been a fan of the artwork of Sarah aka Star

for quite some time. Like many years ago when I first saw her 

Chibi artwork on the Spesch Designer Stamps site. 

Now she has her own shop selling her awesome artwork directly at

Star Stampz on Etsy.

I had to grab the Alice in Wonderland images and make something 

cool with them, so I made a wall hanging that I'm pretty proud of.

I am super happy with how this turned out.

I began with a drawer insert I had that served as a perfect substrate.

I gessoed it and adhered some distressed vintage feeling designer papers. 

Then, I stenciled some diamonds on it using Finnabair platinum crackle paste,

keeping it kind of random. 

I colored up the adorable Alice image in blue greens and beige shades

of Copics. I added in some gold tones and a hint of red, too.

I matted the image onto some distressed background papers to add more texture

and contrast.  

I used some metal embellishments along with various die cuts from Tim Holtz.

I covered the clock and gear die cuts with Golden Pearl Mica Flake and colored it

using TH distress inks. I also used some gold and amber shades of dew drops, 

and some hand colored paper roses in blue greens, as well.  

Then it was the Mad Hatter's turn to get some

color. More beige and blue green shades of Copic coloring.

I added some pops of red to give some nice contrast too.

More die cuts, roses, and dew drops were added to finish it all off

and provide some balance to the entire piece.

I made this for my bestie and she loves it. It now hangs in her craft room.

Thanks for dropping by today.

I'd like to enter this wall hanging in the following challenges:

Star Stampz - Hand colored image(s)

The Dark Attic Challenges - Anything Goes

hope it's not too cute for you guys

Unicorn Challenge - Inspired by a Fairy Tale

Craft Your Passion - Anything Goes

Left of Center - Distressing

A Vintage Journey - Texture or Embossing Paste

Altered Eclectics - Mixed Media Anything Goes 

Crafts and Me Challenge and Inspiration - Anything Goes Shabby Chic/Vintage

Die Cut Divas - Anything Goes

Rhedd's Creative Spirit - Anything Goes

SanDee & Amelie's Steampunk Challenges - Anything Goes Steampunk 

     

Something in the Sky part deux

Today I have another submission for the current

Wicked Wednesday ATC challenge.

The image is the Aussie Bee Eater from 

By Miss Rach on Etsy. 

I felt the need to split this up from the ATC I made

yesterday of that adorable bee. Might be a bit of a 

melee between this guy and that bee. 

Not a fair fight either, I'm afraid. 

I wasn't familiar with this gorgeous little bird before 

getting the image. They are just stunning in their

color variations. Very fun to color up as well.

I had so much fun with this image. I backed him up on a complimentary

background paper and added some of my necessary bling by using some

sequins. I also stamped the word 'wings' for some more interest.

Be sure to check out miss rach's blog for new releases and some

fabulous freebies including the bee from yesterday.

I'm entering this ATC in the following challenges:

Wicked Wednesday ATC challenge - Something in the Sky

Craft Your Passion - Anything Goes

Critters and Creatures - Anything Goes

Simon Says Stamp Monday challenge - In the Garden

Hiding in my Craft Room - Summer Colors 

Just Us Girls - Birds

    

Something in the Sky ATC

The current challenge at Wicked Wednesday ATC is

Something in the Sky.

I just bought a bunch of super cute images from Miss Rach on Etsy

that are perfect for this theme.

My first ATC (another will follow tomorrow)

is featuring the adorable bumble bee image.

He is available on her blog as a FREE BEE (freebie) found here.
Be sure to check out all of her other adorable and very affordable
images she has to offer in her shop here. 

How stinkin' cute is this chubby little dude?!

I love him!! Super fun and easy to color up.

I love that. Sometimes a simple image to color

is just what I need on a day I'm not up for too

much planning or too many color choices. 

It's nice to have a lot of open space to blend as well.

I used my generic Dymo to add the Buzz Buzz sentiment that

I think plays really well with the cutesy paper. I popped it up on some

foam tape for more dimension. Added a little Stickles in Waterfall 

for my necessary bling, and we're done! 

I'd like to enter this ATC in the following challenges:

Wicked Wednesday ATC challenge - Something in the Sky

  

Passionate about Power Poppy

Of all the days for me to decide not to turn the computer on!

I forgot all about the Passionate Paper Creations and Power Poppy

facebook event going on this weekend!

I decided to finally hop on the computer at 8 PM to see what I missed

and about had a fit! There is a $25 gift credit giveaway for Power Poppy

going on and I almost missed it!!

I quickly colored in one of my newest Power Poppy images

the Gerbera Daisies, and made a nice card that may also

qualify for the current Power Poppy Power and Spark challenge 

of Happy Mail.
Everyone can use some happy mail from time to time, right?
I know how much I enjoy getting a thoughtful note or a beautiful
handmade card in the mail. I have to admit that it doesn't happen nearly
enough, but I try to send one out at least once a month or more.

I'd like to enter this card in the following challenges:
Power Poppy Power and Spark challenge - Happy Mail
Passionate Paper Creations Facebook contest
Hiding in my Craft Room - Summer Colors
Paper Creators Crafts - All About Flowers