Sunshine, freedom, and a little flower

My neighbor has a sunflower plant that has grown over 2 feet from the top of her 7-foot fence.  So a sunflower is not necessarily a little flower but it's really petite here.  (The sunflower is another find at the Expo by Dies to die for.)  I framed it with a stacked Gina Marie frame for a quick and CAS card.

I also got this little field mouse stamp by Art Impressions that I thought worked perfectly with this same stamp.  I also kept this very simple by just stamping and coloring with Prismacolor pencils.

Just living is not enough mounted stamp set

Live like someone left the gate open

... but please don't actually leave the gate open!  My Shadow would run out and not know the way home!  But he is super happy chasing rabbits and squirrels which we do not want inside our own fenced yard.

It makes a really cute card though!  I picked up this Arbor die by Rubbernecker at the Scrapbook Expo and knew it would go perfectly with this stamp from Quietfire Design.  I sponged the sky and added the arbor - die-cutting the gate a couple of extra times to be used as the fence.

I layered up some grass dies by Impression Obsession and added tiny flowers (the stamens the Bougainvillea die by Elizabeth Craft Designs).  By arranging the flowers in a different patterns in different colors, I got the look of different flowers even though they are the same die.

Another find from the Expo were these two dogs from Art Impressions Dog House Cubbies.  I think that hound is actually laying down but I made him jumping with joy to go with the sentiment stamped about the garden scene.  

 I did not glue the gate down but used the latches as a hinge for the gate so it would open and close.  (My kids say it looks like the gate is closing on the door but I say he's busting out. In-house critics are the worst!)

Live Like Someone left the gate open mounted stamp set

Challenge I am playing in:

Simon Says Anything Goes

Art Impressions Dog House Cubbies

Sorry I've been MIA - summer started and all the kids are home.  But I did manage to sneak away to the Scrapbook Expo and made some time to play with the new stuff I got.  It's funny but I was thinking that since I've gone there every year for over a decade, it would be a short trip.  Nope, I took HOURS and it was so nice to see some new companies - well, new to me.  I much prefer to shop in person than on-line even though on-line is wonderful and convenient - a little too convenient if you know what I mean.  But it was inspiring to see all the cards on display.

Art Impressions always has an amazing booth - their samples make me want to sign up for a Copic coloring class.  (Shameless plug here - Elizabeth Craft Designs also has an amazing booth and really beautiful samples - and I love seeing my work on the display  board - but you've got to see Susan's flowers to really appreciate how incredible they are.  You'll want all the flowers and Quietfire Design's word dies!)

Back to AI, they had the CUTEST Dog house cubbies stamp and die and I had to buy it because I knew exactly who I was going to mail it to.  I can't wait to send it to her.

Such a fun image to practice coloring and blending - and forgiving too because it's a nice size stamp but detailed.  I masked and sponged the background but left it pretty simple.

Best part is that it comes with a die and two of the door open and the others cut out the windows and doors.  On my instagram is a couple of videos where I colored the dogs houses.

Isn't that the cutest?  My kids want me to color the Pomeranian white so we can pretend it's a Samoyed - a very small one.  Lol!

Challenge I am playing in:

Simon Says Anything Goes

Miss you

Finally getting around to playing with some things I got from the Scrapbook Convention.  This is my first attempt at using Art Impressions stamps to make a watercolor piece.  So much fun!

I had to get this little puppy set because he looks like my own furbaby Kiki so I colored him in similar colors.  I then added the Miss You die by Quietfire Design.

The bit of hemp twine added some interest and quite honestly, I was playing with tying a not and came up with whatever that is you see.  Lol!

Miss You Kitty

I discovered these Art Impressions stamps at the Scrapbook Convention a few weeks ago.  They are so cute and clever I had to get a set.  And since Simon Says is showcasing Art Impressions this week, I had to ink it up.  The challenge is also to go dotty and so I used 3 circles for my layout. I love the additional stitched edging that MFT Blueprints 13 and Lil' Inkers Circles have.  I stamped my cat from AI Front and Back Cat and Dog on watercolor paper and colored it with akashiya sai watercolor brush pens and fussy cut them out.  The sentiment is from Verve You and I and black embossed.

So here is the super cute part.  You open the card and you see the back of the cat.  Isn't that so cute, clever, and fun!  I can't wait for my cat-loving friend to receive this.  

Challenge I am playing in: 

Simon Says We're going Dotty