Heart 2 Heart Sketch Challenge...Happy Birthday Aunt Lori

Finally!!  I was able to play with along (and complete!) this week's Heart 2 Heart challenges.  It's been too long since I last got to participate.  I hate when life and work gets in the way of fun! ;O)  This was kind of a must and the sketch came along at just the right time.  My aunt's birthday is today and of course, I needed a card!  I had to pull out this little hedgehog one last time...for now anyway!!  

I'm trying to learn how to properly color with Copics, but, am having a tough time with it.  My instinct is to color from light to dark.  But, since the dark colors are typically on the outer edges of an image, by the time you get to them you've got so much ink on the paper that it tends to bleed really bad outside the image lines.  Anyway, this was my attempt at coloring from dark to light...I don't love how it turned out, but quite honestly, I was running out of ink by the time I finished this rendition!! ;O)  He's still cute and at least, I have finally figured out how to put a little blush on his cheeks with the markers instead of having to dig out my chalk....that's some progress...right? ;O)

O.k., so, I have to admit my Happy Birthday is tippy...but, to be honest, I finished the inside this morning after shoveling the majority of a dump truck load of gravel with my husband yesterday and basically had no feeling left in my hands.  You should have seen me trying to color those teeny weeny little butterflies!!!  We had to finish the gravel this morning and then I worked the rest of the day prepping for hydroseed...that's why my card is so darn late!!!

O.k., so I have another excuse regarding the photos...we have had a record 28 days straight of rain...that's right and I believe today makes 29!!  I am so tired of rain!!!  Needless to say, it didn't help us get the yard work done and it sure hasn't provided good lighting for my photos.  If you look close at both the front and inside of the card, you'll see I went nutty with pearls.  I just love them!  Alright, can you tell I've been trapped outside working my rear off and not able to really talk to anyone? ;O)  My husband and I are so tired and sore that we basically didn't talk at all last night except to complain about our aches and pains!!!  Hope you all have a great week!

Paper:  CTMH Perfect Day

Cardstock:  Orchid Bouquet (retired), Twighlight, and Colonial White

Ink:  Orchid Bouquet (retired), Twighlight, Sweet Leaf, Creme Brulee, Tsukineko Memento in Rich Cocoa and Tuxedo Black

Stamps:  Happy Forever and From Me to You (sentiment)

Other: Copic Markers, Recollections adhesive pearls from Michaels in white and a Twighlight Blue color, Martha Stewart Edge and Corner Punches, and Prima Flowers

Page Maps....Relax

I'm three months shy of having Owen's "Baby Book" done...well, the third scrapbook for his first year!!!  Can you tell he's an only child!  Anyway, I'm hoping to get it all wrapped-up so I can feel like I've finally accomplished something!  I decided when I first started that I'd do each month with the same paper pack and just make it work.  So, far, I think it's worked out...you've got to love how versatile CTMH paper packs are.  This is the last page I had left to do for "Month 8" with Perfect Day.  Don't you just love those little feet...I have such a weird fascination with those little chubby toes! ;O)  Owen's crossed his feet like that since he was teeny tiny, people always ask me why I pose him like that...how in the world do they think I get him to sit still like that intentionally!  

I used another great sketch from Pagemaps, I'm so glad I thought to check them out again!  I've had a lot of fun with their sketches lately and look forward to doing more.

I had just gotten two new punches on clearance from Michaels and was excited to put them to use.  The first is the Martha Stewart Scroll Lace punch and the other was EKSuccess notebook.  I was surprised that despite the fact that EKSuccess technically makes both punches, I really preferred the Martha Stewart version.  But, I did like that the EKSuccess punch locks...anyway, just surprised at the differences.

Paper:  Perfect Day
Cardstock:  Twighlight, Olive, and Colonial White
Ink:  Twighlight, Olive, Bamboo, and Cocoa
Stamps: Cobblestone Alpha
Other: Stickles, EKSuccess corner rounder and Notebook punch, Martha Stewart Scroll Lace Edge Punch

A Perfect Combo

There's just some stamp sets and paper packs that belong together. To me, Whooo Loves You stamp set and Perfect Day paper were one of those sets meant to be! I love this owl and think he really pops with bitty brads for eyes. I used Mojo Monday's Sketch #94 for this card.

I also used Treasure Life for the leaves and Classmate Alpha and Say it in Style for the sentiment on the outside of the card. The sentiment on the inside is from A Birthday Wish stamp set. I used my Cricut to cut all of the shapes out, chocolate CTMH ribbon, and Robin's Nest Dew Drops to finish it off.

Whoo Loves You

It's been forever since I've posted. The weather here in Alaska turned beautiful on May 1st and has been amazing every day since!! So, I haven't been inside much for a while. Plus, we've started down the potty training road with my son! He's caught on fast and although I may be tooting my horn a little early, it looks like after just two short days, we have a successful potty using boy! ;O)

My step-mom's mother embroidered a really cute owl onto a t-shirt for my son (his initials happen to be O.W.L-so we call him "Hoot") and I wanted to send her a thank-you. So, I took some time out of the sun and made this card for her. I started out using a Mojo Monday sketch, but it didn't turn out looking like it in anyway!! That seems to happen to me a lot lately!! ;O)

For the front I used Perfect Day Level 2 paper with Cocoa and Tulip cardstock along with Tulip, Cocoa, Chocolate, Creme Brulee, and Juniper inks. The owl and branch are from the Whoo Loves You stamp set, the leaves from Treasure Life, and the sentiment is from You're a Hoot. I also used Dew Drops from the Bird's Nest, CTMH pewter brads (for the eyes) and stickles on the branch (they're hard to see).

I finished off the inside using more Perfect Day Level 2 paper, Colonial White cardstock, and Tulip, Chocolate, and Juniper inks. For the stamps I used the You're a Hoot for the owl, Boutique Borders, and From Me to You for the sentiment. I also used a couple of Bitty Brads for the eyes!