go HOG WILD on your birthday!

guy cards are HARD. they just are.

i used to think it was just me-- being a fan of all things pink and frilly and flowery and sparkly-- having trouble adapting stylistically, but i've heard too many other amazing cardmakers of every stripe say the same thing, so i think it may just be empirically true. thus, when i set out to make an especially important guy card, i like to arm myself with a secret weapon! such as this week's unassailably AWESOME sketchy thursday sketch:

yeah. how *FABULOUS* is that??! (told ya!) :)

i also like to have a bit of a "concept" if possible. because whereas with feminine cards one can ofttimes skate by with amazing eye candy in the form of product; i think you need an idea or a joke or... something... to make a guy card really work. since this card is for my b-i-l's imminent fiftieth birthday, and he is a big fan-- and owner of-- harley davidson motorcycles, i thought that'd be a good way in. then i thought of a (IMO) cool catchphrase and it all came together:

(patterned paper: basic grey, dcwv, ek success/harley davidson, sei, ki; stickers: pebbles; rub-ons: making memories, glitz, heidi swapp; journaling cards: k&co, little yellow bicycle; other: photo & HD logo printed on kodak premium photo paper; sentiment printed on staples' clear inkjet labels; fonts: 4990810 & susie's hand)

ok, so the sketch is rather compressed in my version, but i *THINK* you can see it! this is a 7" card, and yet i still nearly ran outta room at the end!!! in my defense, i wanted the photo & sentiment to be a decent size so you could see them; but i probably should've scaled them down just a teeny bit more. i had originally intended to make the card entirely black, white, and blue, but then i found scraps of the harley-davidson licensed diamond pane paper, and obviously i had to use that... and also it occurred to me that *GREY* is actually the perfect color for 50th birthday cards, lol!!!

in my original plan the "you are here" icon... (which came from a set of travel-themed rub-ons i stumbled upon whilst searching for something else entirely) ...pointed at the "50"; but somehow in gluing up i must've shifted the bits and on the finished card it just DID NOT FIT where i wanted it to. ah well. i think it's ok where it is...

for that matter, i am not usually the kind of cardmaker who will put your age on the front of your card in big black numerals! but this particular guy beat an especially nasty type of cancer a couple of years ago, and since then our family has been pretty darned happy about larger-number birthdays, so i really wanted to make a point of it. perspective really is *EVERYTHING* darlings, don't you think??! ♥♥♥

oh NO lindsay!

last week marked a bit of an event in niece lindsay marie's life: a head injury that turned out to be a *CONCUSSION*!!! on the other hand, when one considers she is nearly eight and this is her first trip to the emergency room... well, i suppose that is below average in terms of childhood trauma, isn't it? luckily, she is FINE, and we've been told there will be no lasting effects, but it was a bit of a scary day!

i planned to make a traditional "get well" card, but somehow when i went to put the sentiment on, it seemed wrong. afterall, she wasn't sick, as such. i had everything else completed, and was still dithering about wordage... and considering just leaving the front blank... when i decided to go with the phrase that popped into my head when i first heard the story:

(patterned paper: bo bunny, basic grey, paper co, doodlebug, pink paislee; thickers: american crafts; flowers: prima & making memories; brad: making memories; pen: copic outliner .25; ink: colorbox)

"oh NO!" sort of sums it up nicely, don't you think?! i went with purple because it's lindsay's favorite color and realized quite happily whilst making the card that a "purple heart" is associated with both injury and bravery. however, when i showed the card to LHJ, he asked if i had been trying to create something which resembled *A BRUISE*??!?!?! ummmmmmm... not reallllllllly, no!!! yikes! :) :) :)

i used this week's fabulous sketchy thursdays sketch as a "road map" for my design:

i also forewent (is that the past tense of "forego"? anyone?!) my usual stitching in favor of some outlining in pen... and a few scallops around my doilies... in honor of this week's magnificently titled city crafter challenge DO-YA-DOODLE?! ♥

sketchy AND photo inspired (with a BLOOM!)

did you see the inspiration photo this week at CCCB (67)? miss ros outdid herself with the gorgeousness here, it's called "vintage garden"... can you say YUMMMMMMMMM??!

speaking of deliciousness, sketchy thursday's 7-28 scheme is rather wonderful, as well; thank you, diana!!! :)

also, shopping our stash is utterly BRILLIANT this week: for #10 they've given us, buttons, blooms and bananas!!! we need only incorporate ONE of those into our designs... oh how i *WISH* my card had a banana on it like leslie's does! alas, i went with the much less interesting, but easier to come by "bloom". for the STASH part, however, i've acquitted myself with honor by mostly using very old and very treasured papers that i bought when either niece lindsay or niece madeline was born; which has to make them--embarrassingly-- AT LEAST 7 years old. i still love them, though, and will continue to use them enthusiastically in little bits and bobs! :)

and now here is the card:

(patterned paper: creative imaginations (diamonds + both blue patterns), doodlebug, imaginisce, mustard moon; bird, sparkly flowers & cupcake stickers: jolees; wordfetti & border sticker: girls' paperie; flower & leaves: prima; thickers: american crafts; ink: colorbox; adhesives: tombow monorunner, sewing machine, low temp hot glue gun)

there is quite a lot going on here, but i hope i've kept it light and bright enough to not feel cluttered. my favorite part is the greeting, with the little wordfetti stickers i am now addicted to ever since kirsty put a girls' paperie sticker book into july's MIDSUMMER NIGHT'S DREAM kit!

my other favorite part is the white machine stitched border around every single piece of patterned paper, which is doesn't look all that impressive in the pics but in real life it adds a "certain something"! it's times like these i wish i enjoyed sewing ON FABRIC because wouldn't this be a gorgeous quilt??! ah well, i think i'll let another crafter tackle that project whilst i go and make some more cards!

♥ciao, darlings!♥

another triple play?!

as someone who is generally not a great combiner of more than one challenge, please forgive me for being excited that i've managed it again! to wit, i have taken this week's magnificent offering from sketchy thursdays:

along with challenge #70--"flower power" at the shabby tea room, for which we're to use both flowers generally and the color scheme of the inspiration photo:

and this week's brief at shopping our stash (#8) which is to use either our really old stuff or our brand spankin' new stuff:

(patterned papers: old: sei (pink dot) and creative imaginations (notebook); new: kaiser (decoratively punched mat layers); cardstock: ranger (of medium age); poppy stamps: pti; inks: ranger di's, glimmer mist, smooch spritz, colorbox chalks; "celebrate" sticker (which came over on the mayflower!): bo bunny; fabric flower: kirsty vittetoe; adhesives: tombow monorunner, 3m doublestick tape)

for the last, i've done a bit of both, having mixed elederly sei & creative imaginations papers (that i still love) with a just-got-it-friday kaiser paper pad. the clear sentiment sticker is also old enough for a bus pass, not to mention the scalloppy scissors, which i think were my very first papercrafting tool purchase back in the day. whereas the poppy stamp only arrived this week, and not only is this is my first time "test driving" it, i also tried a new technique in which i stamped the base image and then, a little frustrated that i was not getting the right "mix" of distress inks and mists i had blended on my craft sheet, i went back with a little brush to darken the centers. (later i added some black stickles, in the very middle, for seeds.)

i'd love to take credit for the amazing rolled fabric rose-n-bow combination, but that was created by my lovely friend kirsty vittetoe, it came on my birthday present! at the very end of the card, when it needed one more thing, i spotted that gorgeous bit of ribbony goodness and literally "tied one on!!!" :)

i have to say i am pretty pleased with this one, so much so that i immediately used the exact same stamp (& a few of these papers, as well--unheard of!) on a completely different-looking card for this month's pixie dust paperie challenge that will begin on 7-20. i can't wait to show it to you on wednesday! ♥

ETA 24 hours later: many thanks to miss diana for the head's up with regard to moxie fab world's "fanatical about botanical" where they are looking for realistic, but graphically innovative interpretations of the botanical style... which i think this is, actually, and as it was created during the challenge i feel ok about "retrofitting" it by one day! :)

hello ST--remember me??!

ok, YEAH, it's been farrrrrrrrrrr too long since i've partaken in the wonderful weekly revels over at sketchy thursdays, but finally here i am and i couldn't be happier. because for one thing this week's sketch (devised & presented by miss heidi) is FAB*U*LOUS, see?!

and thus it was merely the work of moments-- (ok, well, probably 60 of them, lol!) --to make a card i totally LOVE:

(patterned paper: tim holtz, prima, pink paislee, cosmo cricket, basic grey; eiffel tower tag: k&co; floral & chipboard alphas: recollections; leaves, charm and (partial) pearl flourish: prima; rub-on: american crafts; inks: ranger; adhesives: tombow monorunner, uhu gluestick, 3m foam tape, sewing machine)

i stuck pretty faithfully to the sketch. i swapped the two square photos for one rectangular tag, and i compressed everything a bit, but other than that, it's all there-- well heck, how could i improve it right?!

so if you have a chance between now and wednesday night, why not swing on by the sketchy thursdays blog and test drive this baby? ...you can thank me later... ;)

step back and *SQUINT*...

...and i think you might be able to see the latest sketchy thursdays offering in my card. maybe. or possibly not. it is a VERY loose version of the sketch, even by my own standards in these matters; plus, i've rotated it; and compressed the proportions quite a bit. so yeah... reallllllllllly loose. but you tell me. here's the sketch:



and here's my card, which was a total blast to make:

(vintage: paris travel guide, map (photocopied into greyscale) & notebook paper; digi: eiffel towel photo from internet, sandy krieger frame, house of 3 paper & tickets; : scrappystuff: patterned paper: hambly; glitter letter stickers: making memories; travel stickers & bling heart: mambi; filmstrip: tim holtz; adhesives: tombow monorunner, sewing machine)

and now i just hope miss heidi will forgive the liberties i have taken with her sketch. if so, i will say to her,

♥MERCI BEAUCOUP!♥

jingle belles: CARD EIGHT

i'm really excited about this week's JINGLE BELLES prompt! we've teamed up with the wonderfully creative gals at SKETCHY THURSDAYS which means we've got an exclusive sketch by diana and TWO chances to link it up: once at jingle belles, and then a second time at sketchy thursdays! plus... there's going to be a prize awarded on each blog!

here's the sketch, which i think you'll agree is quite wonderful:

and here's my card:

(vintage illustration from "ideals" magazine; patterned paper: hambly, basic grey, pink paislee; cardstock: core'dinations; ruffles: pink paislee; leaf ribbon: may arts; wired pearls & poinsettia: michaels; acrylic snowflake: heidi swapp; wire & bead snowflake: jolees; rub-on sentiment: basic grey; ink: colorbox; adhesives:tombow monorunner, 3m foam tape; other: sewing machine)

this fun "crossover" means that in addition to seeing stef's card, and the cool prize that will be awarded to one lucky cardmaker this week on the JINGLE BELLES blog, you'll want to check out the gorgeous inspiration by the awesome sketchy thursdays team, and THE OTHER prize that's being given away on their blog!

to sum up: TWO prizes on TWO blogs and you only need to make ONE CARD to have a shot at both! (can i get a "WOOHOO?!") just link up your sketch-based finery at ST and JB by 10p EST on thursday, february 24th! see the post at JINGLE BELLES for complete details!

be careful what you wish for!

having spent the last week saying, shouting, whining, and pleading, "NO MORE SNOW!" in various tones of voice, this morning we woke up to (...wait for iiiiiiiiiiiit...) ICE! yeah. thank you. snow will be fine, and i will shut up now. :)

on the plus side, i made a card! i used this lovely map from sketchy thursdays:



and incorporated the "LOVE" theme* at the city crafter challenge blog, to come up with a bit of an anniversary card:

(patterned paper: echo park + handmade india paper; cardstock diecuts: urban lily; cardstock stickers: echo park, creative imaginations; trims: making memories & american crafts; flowers: prima; brads: michaels (thanks, leslie!); adhesives: tombow monorunner, 3m foam tape, sewing machine)

ok, the sketch is a little smooshed...but it is THERE, honestly! i actually laid this out at first as a bit bigger...and rectangular... card, and then decided to "compress" it a bit in order to fit into a 6x6" envelope. i kind of slightly wish i'd gone with my first instinct, but i still think it's quite a pretty card; also i'm sort of shocked to find i'm quite loving the color GREY at the moment. who knew??!

if you are in the mid-atlantic region of the US...or indeed anywhere that weather conditions are a bit dangerous...do take extra good care today, darlings! or better yet: STAY HOME AND MAKE STUFF!!!** ♥♥♥



*let's all say that in our best "barry white" voices, shall we?! thanks. that was fun!
**just tell the boss, "lauren said so!" yeah. that'll work! :) :) :)

fancy *HYBRID* xmas gift bags!

i was deliberating on what color to use for the nieces' and nephew's holiday gift bags, when i saw that this week's city crafter challenge (hosted by december's pixie dust paperie GDT!) is "kraft kreations" --thanks, ros, that was easy!!!

thrilled by the quickness of letting someone else make my difficult decisions, i hopped over to sketchy thursdays and nabbed the current sketch:


color...sorted! design...mapped! let the gift bag embellishment commence!!!

(digistuffs: papers: vera lim, gretchen thomas, katie pertiet; stickers: mindy tersawa; word art, tags & snowflakes: katie pertiet, designer digitals; real stuff: plain bags & wired ribbon from michaels; alphabets: thickers; snowflake punches: ek success & martha stewart; border punch: recollections; brads: my mind's eye; stickers: mrs. grossman, jolees; inks: colorbox; adhesives: gluedots, tombow monorunner, 3m foam tape, sewing machine)

ok, how cute are those "jolly friends" christmas characters? they're by mindy terasawa at designer digitals, and i used them last year too, but i couldn't resist a comeback! plus...HYBRID...totally saves you time when you need to make FOUR of something, but you want each one to be individual! believe it or not, i used only one 8.5x11" blank label sheet for each bag, and then just a few "real" embellishments on top for texture and interest. here are the printed bits in various stages:

you can see that i've got three panels: the one with the character on it, a blue one for a primary mat as shown in the sketch, and a longer skinny one for the very back panel behind. each one is a digital patterned paper to which i've added only a little customization...snowflake brushes in various colors...a couple of word arts...those cute dangly tags. the only thing i changed between printings was the cute little character; all else is the same on each bag. here's a shot where you can see the "real" things i added:

i spelled each name in thickers (whose adhesive i enhanced with my sewing machine; i LOVE thickers...but they don't always stay ON, do they??!) the character panel was matted on copier paper and trimmed with scalloppy scissors. i added a punched strip of white paper and a bit of lace. i swapped out the cute journaling spot in the sketch for a compound snowflake made up of a large punch, a few stacked stickers, and a very fancy brad holding it all together.

i stuck all the bits on, and at the end i trimmed up the top with some swirls of ribbon and a fancy bow...et voila!

in closing may i please apologize to all my lovely blogging friends?! i realize i've been a NON-presence in your comments, but not in spirit!!! at the moment, the holidays are verrrrrrrrrrry slightly kicking my crafty butt! :) also...the upcoming january pixie dust kit is very VERY special to me indeed, and i'm finishing up some pretty cool projects to show you next month over there. then i've got a super-cool new DT gig that starts january 6th, about which i am most excited! oh yeah, and did i mention my darling stef and i are hatching a CUNNING PLAN??!?!?!? :) :) :)

please bear with me, and for now accept an extra helping of my holiday cheer, darlings! ♥♥♥

a (last-minute) *TRIPLE* play!!!

i like to think i am as good a multi-tasker as anyone else, but in fact when it comes to challenges, i seldom manage to do more than double up with... say... a sketch and a color combo. this time, however, i've even worked in a *THEME* which means i am good to go on three challenges with one card! a new personal best! :)

i've combined this week's sketchy thursday sketch (that closes in...about 15 minutes...) which is, naturally, FAB-U-LOUS:


i've followed (pretttttty closely) the current (GORGEOUS!) color scheme at design dollies of turquoise pink and white; and i've worked in some lovely winged creatures for the take flight theme at the city crafter challenge blog!

and here's my card:

(patterned paper: prima + rhonna farrer digis from house of three; glossy cardstock: ranger; stickers: ek success; butterfly punches: martha stewart; inks: colorbox; font: porcelain; gems: mambi; adhesives: tombow monorunner, gluedots)

and now i think my work here is done...and done...and DONE! goodnight, all! ♥♥♥

it's ♥SUN♥ day! (could you BE more literal, lauren??!)

as i think i've mentioned before: titles are the hardest part of blogging, imo; so i never, EVER, overlook an easy one--no matter how obnoxiously obvious it might be!!! :)

but why is sunday significant, you ask? well, all week i've been thinking about what i would make for this week's city crafter challenge, which is LET YOUR LIGHT SHINE. being as this week is hosted by my lovely friend cheryl nelson and the guest designer is my equally lovely friend amy tsuruta, i thought i should do something especially nice! and then i saw heidi's sketch at sketchy thursdays:


right. so i've got "SHINE"... and a big half circle in the middle of my page... hmmmmmmm... whatever shall i do next, lol??! *THEN* i saw these gorgeous yellow rose bobby pins by glamasaurus--the etsy inspired challenge featured artist this week-- and when the idea of yellow, turquoise and roses mixed in with my other inspirations... it all sort of fell into place:

originally the card ended at the blue cardstock panel (which opened as a top-fold), until the VERY LAST pass of the sewing machine to secure the lovely websters pages rose trim in which i accidentally sewed the card shut!!!!!!!!!! (arrrrrrrrrggh!!!) but actually, i had been thinking it was a wee bit small, and wondering if i ought to mount the whole thing on a larger panel, perhaps with a white mat in between? so i took the sewing mishap to be a sign that *YES* i should do just that! ;)

of course, i could have posted this saturday night, or monday morning...but for some reason, i decided to do it on ♥SUN♥ day. go figure!!! :)

(~materials~ a lot of miscellaneous yellow patterned paper scraps xyroned with permanent adhesive and then torn into small "mosaic-like" pieces & attached to some fancy pants chipboard; vintage sheet music watercolored and sprayed with various inks; core'dinations cardstock; ranger glossy cardstock; crocodile embossed vinyl art paper from pearl paint; sassafras border strips; websters "bloomers" trim; doodlebug alphas; stewart superior india ink pad; adhesives: tombow monorunner, uhu gluestick, 3m foam tape, sewing machine)

i'd say she's pretty lovely :)

this week's theme at the city crafter challenge blog is isn't she lovely, for which we are invited to make any papercrafting project we'd like, provided it has the image of a woman on it. meanwhile, over at sketchy thursdays, diana has set us quite a fabulous card sketch*:

when i combined those two ideas, i got this:

(lakshmi image from t'internet; patterned paper: basic grey, prima; cardstock: core'dinations; diecut border: k& co; sticky-backed canvas: claudine helmuth; inks: stewart superior, ranger distress & glimmer mist; ribbon from a trimmings shop; adhesives: tombow monorunner, 3m foam tape, sewing machine)

yes, diwali is still 2 months away, but i think it's always a nice time to make a card with lakshmi on it; i mean, we can all use more good luck and prosperity, right? but also, i am still REALLLLLLLY into watercoloring the gorgeous lotus stamp that mari sent me!!! (yep, sometimes my choices are that scientific, folks!) :)

speaking of kind and sweet blogging friends, kirsty vittetoe sent me this award, for which i thank her most humbly!

we are not entirely sure what the text says**, but it's got a picture of some lovely birds on it, so i'm makin' up my own rules: if you're reading this, and you're a lovely bird, and you'd like to be tagged, consider it done! (and do feel free to display this beautiful badge proudly!)

♥♥♥

*i am not sure why this was such a big deal...afterall...i make a card for *ALL* of diana's sketches, lol!!! :)
**if i have just sworn at you in croatian, i apologize!!!!!!!

sketchy thursday, on wednesday, like always

*SOMEDAY* i will turn one of these in with more than a 12-hour window left 'til the deadline... and that is how you'll know i've been replaced by a realistic (but crafty) android! please alert the authorities! :)

in the meantime, here is the sketch, which rocks, naturally:

oof and btw, i should mention that last week's awesome and minimalist sketch (which i so ruthlessly maximalized) was conceived by the brilliant miss heidi and not the lovely miss diana like i told you. i apologize for the error, but since both ladies are equally ♥FAB♥ and also co-founders of the very cool sketchy thursday challenge site, i hope they will not mind too much!

oh yeah and in addition to the ST sketch, i used this week's rather dishy color palette of bright yellow, kraft and white from design dollies...that miss leah can sure rock the neutrals, no?!

and now, finally, here is the card in question:

(patterned paper & chipboard corner: basic grey; black cardstock: core'dinations; glossy white cardstock: ranger; vintage: sheet music, butterfly illustration & lace; perfume label sticker: laughing elephant; eiffel tower rub-on: tulip; diamond border sticker: heidi swapp; flowers: prima; rhinestones: kaiser; adhesives: tombow monorunner, 3m foam tape, sewing machine)

♥

happy

wednesday,

darlings!

♥

i was going for "clean and simple"

so obviously this week's scheme by diana over at sketchy thursdays was just the ticket:

of course it is possible that brilliantly clean and graphic sketch notwithstanding, i may have overshot the mark just slightly:

(patterned paper: creative imaginations & sei + handmade paper from pearl paint; letters: american crafts; epoxy heart stickers: sticko & recollections; crown chipboard: maya road; crystal frame: prima; ink: prima; adhesives: tombow monorunner, 3m foam tape, sewing machine)

in retrospect, i suppose a highly ornate curlicued frame made entirely of rhinestones (yeah, i know, they look DARK--but they're clear crystals) doesn't exactly scream "minimalist" does it? hmmmmm. i should probably make a note of that. :)

admittedly, it's not what i was going for, but i kind of like it...and i think we can be fairly certain that the recipient will not get *TWO* of these babies, eh?! ♥♥♥

boldly pushing back the frontiers of "last minute"

yes, i have been known to cut it close when it comes to deadlines, but this is pretty impressive even for me: this week's sketchy thursday challenge ends in 30 minutes. so let's get right to it then!

here's the sketch:

what's the first thing you notice? yep--it's a two-pager. when diana posted one of these babies in may she jokingly asked how i would make a *CARD* based on a two-page sketch, and i immediately said, "tri-fold!" unfortunately, i didn't get a chance to make a card for that sketch, but this time i was determined!!!

so here's the left-hand "page":

and here's the right-hand "page":

i didn't have a sketch for the very inside, but having gone this far (& inspired by linda...whose tri-folds are AWESOME!) i went the rest of the way:

and there you have it without a moment to spare, but hopefully worth the wait! :)

♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥

(materials: patterned paper: fancy pants, making memories, sei basic grey, daisy d's, creative imaginations; cardstock diecuts: k&co, fancy pants; label dies: nestabilities; stickers: creative imaginations; florals & gem decorations: prima; bling frame: heidi swapp; bling word: mambi; chipboard flowers and leaves: basic grey; stick pins: making memories; rub-ons: american crafts, basic grey, making memories; epoxies: recollections, ki, love elsie; brads: studio g; ticket strips: rhonna farrer, house of 3; ink: colorbox; adhesives: uhu gluestick, tombow monorunner, 3m foam tape & doublestick tape)

i took liberties with diana's sketch

from sketch thursdays this week:

or rather, i took liberties with the proportions; because really all the *elements* are there:

(patterned paper & chipboard scallop: my mind's eye; cardstock tags: jenni bowlin; cardstock: core'dinations; flowers: making memories; glass pebble: prima; leaf ribbon: may arts; chipboard word: ek success; other: vintage sheet music, vintage eyelet, silk ribbon, sewing machine; adhesives: uhu gluestick, tombow monorunner, gluedots, 3m foam tape)

i am also not entirely sure i love the over-hanging scallops...which at 10pm last night looked cool and fresh and daring...but those things are ON THERE now, so i'm hoping they'll grow on me! :)

an impressive *12 HOURS* before the deadline! :)

i have managed to complete and post a card made from diana's rather lovely scheme this week at sketchy thursdays:


if you are less enthusiastic about my timeliness, consider that the last couple of weeks i haven't had a chance to play at ST at all...and the sketch from last week was KILLER...and i MISSED IT!!! (not to worry, i have that baby printed & saved & you WILL see it at some point!) :) in the meantime here is my card:

(patterned paper: my mind's eye, basic grey, crafty secrets + vintage sheet music; bird fabric panel: crafty secrets cotton scraps; flowers: michaels; leaves & glass pebble: prima; ink: colorbox; adhesives: tombow monorunner, gluedots, sewing machine)

i bought these crafty secrets' cotton scraps (like journaling cards, only made of fabric) at least two years ago. i have pulled them out and admired them probably 77 times... and then put them back and made a card out of something else. i have no idea *WHY* i found them hard to use, they're adorable (mine are bird-themed), a perfect size for cards, and the texture of having real fabric on there is awesome. go figure. of course, me being me: it's taken two years to make the first card... but the packet will be *FINISHED* in a week! :)

♥ happy wednesday, darlings! ♥

it's DINO-mite!!! :)

gina's newest digi-kit i mean. or rather i should say gina's *UPCOMING* digi-kit, since technically it's not out yet, but i got special dispensation to give you a little sneak peek!

how fun are those dinosaurs??! not to mention the word art, plus there are TWO alphas & some really cool journaling blocks. but even if you don't like ANY of that... (which frankly seems impossible to me, but let's pretend, ok?!) ...even if you don't like any of that, this kit is worth having JUST for the papers! there are a couple of totally awesome patterns, but as a matter of fact, my faves are those amazingly vivid solids! they have just enough grungy "texture" to be interesting, without overwhelming whatever they are paired with. i absolutely ♥LOVE♥ them, and i hope you do, too... 'cause i think you're gonna be seeing them a lot!

as generally happens when gina is nice enough to let me preview a kit, i just could not wait to play with it, so i used diana's current sketch from sketchy thursdays which looks like this...

...to make a card, which looks like this:

(all images from the "dino love" kit, gina cunningham, tyggereye art; additional supplies: ranger glossy black cardstock; kodak premium photo paper; white matte cardstock from staples; foam stickers & ribbon from michaels; palm tree brad from oriental trading co; fonts--3 the hard way, 3 hour tour & bleeding cowboys--all downloaded free from dafont.com; sewing machine, paper distresser, colorbox & ranger inks)

how fun is that for a little boy's birthday? or for a dino-loving little girl's birthday? or perhaps for a brother-in-law who's just a teeny bit older than me, but i like to give him a really hard time about it??! ;)

this kit will debut in gina's etsy shop soon, so keep your eyes peeled on the tyggereye art blog!