MPS "Holiday Magic" Blog Hop

Welcome to my portion of the Michelle Perkett Studio Holiday Magic Blog Hop.

If you arrived here from Jan's blog, She's Gone Stamping, you're in the right place.  If not, start at the beginning at the Michelle Perkett Studio Challenge blog. 

This year, our family is blessed with some very special holiday magic.  My youngest daughter, Chelsey, has been trying to get pregnant for over 5 years.  Finally, this year her prayers were answered, and she is due to deliver at anytime.  Unfortunately, she had to be hospitalized at 19 weeks into her pregnancy due to an incompetent cervix.  The doctors did surgery to stitch her cervix closed, and she remained in the hospital on bedrest for over a month where she found out that she also has gestational diabetes.  She has continued to be on bedrest, which has ended up costing her their main source of income.  Even losing her job and the bedrest hasn't dampened her spirits, even though she's used to working as an animal welfare officer, a MP in the CO Army National Guard and co-owning a dog training/boarding business with her hubby.  Last week, the doctor took the stitch out and told her to prepare for deliver within the next 48 hours.  That was a week and a half ago.  It seems that little Caleb likes it so much inside of his mommy that he decided to stay a bit longer!  Whenever he comes, he will always be one very special little boy!

Needless to say, this image by Michelle Perkett says it all!  I colored the image with colored pencils and added some bling with Stickles.  On the border of the image, I punched the snowflakes out with a Martha Stewart edge punch.  Some ink was pounced onto the edges of the the image and the Target $1 Shop design paper.  Next I added some irridescent trim to the design paper, and then finished it off with some May Arts ribbon.

The next stop on the hop is the very talented Pauline's blog HERE.  Remember, there are prizes to be won, so you won't want to miss a single stop on the hop!  Don't forget to stop over at Michelle's Etsy shop to see all of the fabulous images she has available for you there.  We also love to mingle with lots of people that love Michelle's images over at her Crafter's Digital Art Center and Paper Craft Planet groups. 

Here's "hopping" that all of you have a wonderful Christmas and a Happy New Year!

~~~~Lee~~~~

Challenges:

Pattie's Creations - #9 Punch or Punches

Stamping With the Dragon - #16 Make it Sparkle
Sweet Stamping - Celebrations
Michelle Perkett Studio Challenge - Christmas - I WON!!!!
2 Sisters Challenge - Christmas

MPS Full Moon Fever Blog Hop

Welcome to another stop on the Michelle Perkett Studio Full Moon Blog Hop!  If you arrived here from Lynne's Doodlebug Designs blog, you're in the right place.  If not, you will want to go back to the start at Michelle's Enchanted Inspirations blog, so you don't miss anything along the way.   They'll be prizes for some hoppers, so don't forget to say Trick or Treat or you may be left in the dark!

This weekend boasts a full moon, and fans of Michelle Perkett Studio wanted to celebrate it by showing off our Halloween goodies.  Since not all of the stops on the hop are in the U.S., we decided to open up the hop to showcase other traditions that are shared by other countries at this time of year.  Fall is such a beautiful time of year, and the creations along the way will surely impress you.  But don't daddle or stray, or you may come across some witches or other creatures that go bump in the night!

The card I made for the hop features three of Michelle's images.  You may think that freebies aren't good enough for blog hops or challenges, but you'd be wrong!  All of Michelle's images are great, and you may want to check out the freebies at her group on Paper Craft Planet.  If you want to see more of Michelle's images, just hop on over to her Etsy shop to see all of her fabulous creations!  You won't be disappointed!

The boy image on my card is called Thomas, and he is the brother of Mary Margaret who is in the witch costume.  Mary Margaret got all dressed up for the costume party, but Thomas thought it was too childish to dress up.  At least Mary Margaret's best friend is dressed as Goldilocks for the party.

All of the images were colored with colored pencils.  The orange DP is by The Paper Studio and the other is by Cloud 9 Design.  The ribbon is another one of my finds at the Target $1 Spot, and the rhinestones are all from my stash.  The cat is from the $1 bin at Michael's and the tombstone is another free image by Angie Whalley.  Don't you just love Mary Margaret's witch hat that was another freebie from Dustin Pike at Doodle Dragon Studio, and her pumpkin is a sticker from my stash.

Your next stop on the hop is at the super talented Marilyn's Cards and More blog.  If you get lost along the way, just go to the Michelle Perkett Studio challenge blog for a full list of participants.  Have a fangtastic full moon fever blog hop! 

~~~  Lee  ~~~

Challenges:

Michelle Perkett Studio - Witches Brew mixed with Halloween

Stamp Something - Use a Digi

Crazy 4 Challenges C4C60 - Halloween

Digis With Attitude - Bling it On!

Paper Cutz #64 - Halloween project with stars, circles, diamonds or crescents

Raise the Bar #41 - Orange, Black and Purple

C.R.A.F.T. Challenge 73 - Spooky  ***WOO HOO! - I won!!!!
Dutch Dare - Halloween or Color Challenge
Fab 'n' Funky Challenges - Things that go bump in the night
The Creative Cottage - Halloween (10/27)
Creative Craft Challenges - Trick or Treat
2 Sisters - Anything Goes
The Crazy Challenge - Halloween
Stamping Vacation - Sticky Situation; Pumpkin Sticker

MPS Meadow Fairy Card

Sorry - I'm having some issues with Blogger right now.  Blogger decided I must have played around enough with this posting and published it anyway.  Don't you just love technology?  I'll try again later.

~~~  Lee ~~~

Back to School with Mary Margaret

First, I wanted to give everyone an update on Chelsey's condition.  She is still doing well in the hospital except for being tired of being in bed already.  She did have another minor setback last week...the doctors informed her that she has gestational diabetes on top of her other pregnancy problems.  Now, she is learning how to count her carbs and other diet issues with the help of the dietitian, so hopefully she won't need insulin.  She wants to thank everyone for your thoughts and prayers.  My nephew came to visit us from North Carolina, so he is going to see Chelsey with another nephew and his wife today.  I'm sure that will help cheer her up!

Since school started last week for my grandkids, I thought I would make their teachers a card.  I wanted to use this image from Michelle Perkett Studio called Mary Margaret, and Michelle's challenge this week is a back-to-school theme.  As usual, I colored the image with colored pencils and blended the colors with tortillions and baby oil.  Mary Margaret is cut out and then popped up with foam adhesives for dimension.  Since this is for my DGD's teacher, I thought it would be good to make her a bookmark to go with the card, so I added a pocket to hold the bookmark.  The image originally got lost in the DP, so I backed her with some cardstock to make her stand out better.  The apple on the image and on top of the pile of books on the bottom right corner by children's author, Elizabeth O. Dulemba, both have Glossy Accents on them which doesn't show up to good in the pictures.  To finish off the front of the bookmark, I used a star eyelet to hold the cording from my stash that has a cute little pencil and ruler metal charms that are also a stash item.

The DP is the Classroom Collage and Stripe by daisy d's.  I've been hoarding them for a while, so I don't know if they're still available.  I've been dying to use my new little craft sewing machine, so I finally got it out of the box and used it on this card.  I'll need some more practice, but I'm sure I'll use it more in the future.  All of the edges are distressed with an emery board and inked with Distress Inks.  After distressing all of the edges this way, I think it's time to invest in the distressing tool.  The ribbon was from my stash and the rub-on that says, "thanks so much" on the top left is an American Crafts mini marks. 

The inside of the card has another digi of a set of books and apple from Elizabeth O Dulemba.  Her images are fabulous, and even better is the fact that they're free!  Just go to her site, Coloring Page Tuesdays, and you can choose from tons of fascinating images.  I've been coloring some of her Halloween images and I can't wait to make some cards with them.  Elizabeth is a accomplished children's author and a big supporter of libraries.  Since I volunteered in the children's library and at my kid's school library, I applaud her dedication to promote reading.  I was very lucky to be one of two Elizabeth's Coloring Page Tuesday supporters that recently won some autographed books.  My grandkids absolutely LOVE them! 

The thanks so much phrase and the dots are another American Crafts rub-on and the sticker is from my stash.  This goes to school with Chloe tomorrow, so I hope her teacher likes it!  Only two more cards to go!

~~  Lee  ~~

Challenges:
Michelle Perkett Studio:  Back to School
Daisy Doodles Creative Challenges:  Anything Goes
Cupcake Craft Challenges:  Let's Get Digital
Incy Wincy Designs:  Back To School
Little Red Wagon:  Back to School
Fussy and Fancy:  Back to School
Simple Doodles:  Back to School
Stamp Somethings:  Back to School Somethings
Crafty Hos Challenge:  Use Your School Supplies
Bee Crafty:  Anything Goes
Stampin' Sisters in Christ:  Use Metal
Paper Cutz Challenge:  Use Some Type of Metal

Michelle Perkett Studio DT Aloha Blog Hop

Aloha!

Today, you are in for some awesome treats as we celebrate the Michelle Perkett Studio first Design Team's departure with a Blog Hop!  It's been six months since this wonderful group of people began designing all kinds of wonderful challenges for us, so we wanted to take this opportunity to thank all of them for all of their wonderful inspiration!  You'll be able to see all kinds of eye candy from all over the world on this blog hop.  Isn't it great how we're able to see so much talent from all over the world thanks to the internet?
If you came here from Pattie's Blog, then you are in the right spot.  If you get lost along the way, you can always go back to Michelle Perkett's blog for all of the stops.

Since I wanted to really highlight Michelle's new image, Leilani, I made this pocket card on a 5" x 7" base.  I will post a tutorial tomorrow telling you all of the measurements of this card.  The DP and stickers are from a page kit from NRN Designs I had bought a couple years ago but could never find a good use for them.  Thanking the design team is an excellent reason to use these yummy papers! 

Leilani was colored with my favorite medium, colored pencils, and blended with tortillions (paper blending stumps) and baby oil.  The highlights were made with a white Sakura gel pen.  The "lace" behind the image is actually a paper doily.  They are so beautiful, and they also don't make as much bulk or weight on the card like ribbon does.  Leilani is popped up with foam adhesives, and the flower stickers by her feet are also from this page set.  The DP is "attached" with some white gel pen faux stitches.  The fibers are from my stash and Little Black Dress Designs.  Don't you just love this 3M Smart Kraft floral ribbon?  This was some blog candy that I won from a blogger in Australia.

The pockets hold a special card thanking the DT.  The DT includes Pattie, Tammy, Nancy, Rhonda, Lynne, Terri, Jean, Ileana and the originals; Jana, Carlie, Kerrie, Gini and Cabio.  What a fabulous group of talent!  They gave us lots of challenges to our own talents that many of us didn't even know existed.  I'm sure they will continue to inspire us in their future endeavors!  We can't begin to thank you enough for introducing us to Michelle's wonderful digi stamps!!!!  The challenges you gave us not only made us think outside the box, but showed us that we all have an inner child waiting to be released.  I love all of the different types of images that Michelle offers, and the DT has helped to open my eyes differently to ones that didn't first appeal to me.  I'm so happy that this wonderful group of women has helped to broaden my horizons much more than I could have ever imagined!

Don't forget to stop over by Michelle Perkett's Etsy shop to see all of the other images that she has available.  If you're like me, you'll want them all!

Your next stop in the hop will be at Pauline's blog.  This is another blogger from Australia that has some really gorgeous creations for you to enjoy!  Don't forget to stop back tomorrow for some more eye candy and the tutorial for the pocket card!  Since the Hawaiin name for Lee is Li, I will sign off a bit differently today.

~~  Li  ~~

Challenges:
Aly's Sunday Challenge - Under or By the Sea
C.R.A.F.T. #61 - Hot & Spicy Colors
Crafty Creations - Summer Lovin'
Crafty Ann - Lazy Hazy Days of Summer
The Crafty Pad - Ribbons and Flowers
Dutch Dare - Anything Goes
For Fun - Colors of Summer
Fresh Brewed Designs - #13 Inspiration Challenge
Raise the Bar - A Sticky Situation
S2G Papercrafting Contest - Summertime Fun Summer Accessory
Shelley's Images - Vacation Time
Stamping Vacation - Pick 3

Sunburned Olive Card

Well, thanks to our wonderful Blogger, I missed another challenge deadline, but at least I can post the card now.  I made this card for the Michelle Perkett Studio Challenge which called for you to use the colors red, white, pink and kraft.  I love this color combo, so I knew I had to enter this challenge!  Unfortunately, Blogger was doing weird things on Sunday & Monday.  First, it wouldn't let me post.  Then it wouldn't let me add or make any layout changes.  This one was new to me.  When I went to the layout,  there were no add a gadget buttons, no save button, and most of the gadgets were missing.  I couldn't even edit the gadgets on this page or from the main page.  Now it's not letting me change the alignment.  Oh well, that will teach me to get my cards done earlier next time!

Anyhoo, I used Michelle Perkett's digi called Olive for this card.  She was colored with colored pencils and blended with baby oil.  The pail and shovel have Ranger Glossy Accents on them to add some more dimension.  The little crocheted flower is from my stash.  Olive is popped up with some foam adhesives.

The DP is made by The Paper Patch and is called White Summer Dots on Raspberry.  The corrugated paper as well as the solid papers are also from my stash.  The yummy white iridescent paper is from some blog candy I won from the Paper Temptress.  The pearls are from Michael's and that gorgeous butterfly ribbon is more blog candy, but this is from a blogger in Australia!  Isn't it just too darn cute?

Thought you might want to see Olive a bit closer.  Her sunburn still doesn't show up as well as it does in person.  You can see the Glossy Accents on this picture better.  Some of the texture on this gorgeous white Paper Temptress paper shows up better.  I probably should have included the bottom part of this digi showing the sand, but I already cut it off before I tried it on the card.  That poor sand dollar probably wouldn't look so alone with the rest of the image.

~~  Lee  ~~

Enjoy Life's Moments w/Mermaids

Well, my electricity is back on for now, so I'll keep this one short.  I've been really lax on posting cards for the Michelle Perkett Studio challenges, so I made it a point to make a card that would fit this challenge.  This  week's challenge was to use cutting like punches, spellbinders, whatever kind of cutting tool that you have and they also wanted to see some form of fussy cutting. 

Well, I think I did all the fussy hand-cutting you could do!  This mermaid is called Harmony...isn't she dreamy?  I cut the flowers out on both of the mermaids and added dimension with Pop Dots.  The images were all cut out, colored with gel pens and Stickles and then added to this yummy American Crafts metallic textured card stock.  The waves and lighthouse on the front are die cuts and the rest of the stuff was cut out by hand with some Stickles added for dimension and to give the mermaids company with all of their shine.  The writing on the gold Denami sun is by moi' and it was also hand cut and outlined with Stickles. 

The inside picture shows the Just Breathe mermaid that you can get at Michelle Perkett's etsy shop.  This image is a relaxing figure that needed to be teamed up with Harmony.  She is swimming with a couple of Michelle's fish that I seperated for this card.  The Brilliance ink pad didn't stay on this card stock, so I added some depth and wave textures with a Sea Brights Pool ink pad.  To get the card stock to show on both sides, I cut out two pieces and then cut along the front pieces so you can see the sun from both pages.  I also wanted to use this gorgeous trim that was from my stash, so it was perfect to go between the two layers.

~~  Lee  ~~
Challenges:
Michelle Perkett Studio - Cutting
Crafty Creations - Add some shine
Sew Many Challenges - Anything Goes
Daisy Doodles Creative Challenges - Summertime
Die Cut Dreams - Life's a Beach!
Ooh La La Creations - #57 Simply Summer
Magical Crafts - Double Double
ABC Challenge - X is for Xtra Dimension
Kah Wink E Dink - Free For All
Digi Doodle Shop's Best - Anything Goes
Bunny Zoe's Crafts - Nice and Girly
CCEE Stampers - Summer Card w/Flowers
Speedy the Cat's Friends Challenge - #9 3+ Flowers on a Card

Weekend Sale at Michelle Perkett Studio

I know I've been MIA lately, but I wanted to let you know about a sale on Saturday & Sunday, June 19th & 20th, at Michelle Perkett Studio.  She's offering 40% off on everything in her Etsy shop on these days!  Michelle has a great variety of digital images, so I bet you'll find lots of things there that you can turn into a beautiful work of art in your paper crafting.

While you're at it, why don't you check out the Michelle Perkett Studio Challenge and Inspiration Blog.  This week's challenge is called "A Stitch In Time," and they want to see stitches in your creation.  This can even be faux stitches for those that are sewing-challenged, so you don't have an excuse to sit this one out!  Grab some images from the sale, or even grab a freebie over at the NEW Crafter's Digital Art Center. 

~~  Lee  ~~

MPS Stairstep Birthday Card

Here's another birthday card I made for my friend's granddaughter.  The images on this stairstep card are all digital stamps from Michelle Perkett Studio.  I just recently bought a Martha Stewart Scoring Board and I'm having a ball with it!  I've made stairstep cards before, but this makes things soooooo much easier!  If you want to try your hand at one of these cards, there are many tutorials for them on the Internet.  I usually start first with Split Coast Stampers for any specialty cards I want to make and go from there. 

The image on the left is the Posie Fairy.  All of the images are colored with colored pencils and blended with baby oil.  Posie Fairy's flowers and wings were given dimension with Crystal Glaze.  A fairy must have some bling, so Stickles were added to her hair for highlights.  The Dream dragonfly was a freebie that Michelle gave to us in her Paper Craft Planet group. 

The card base is on Remember When textured card stock and layered with some design papers from my stash. Can you tell that Alayna loves purple?  The flowers and brads in the center were from my stash, and they were all enhanced with some Icicle Stickles. I found these wonderful deep purple and gold fibers on a hair tie that I took apart, and the light pink sparkle fibers were from my stash. The plastic hearts, dragonfly and butterfly were from Hobby Lobby, and the corner punch is made by Fiskars.  The purple coated wire was in a unknown kit that I bought a couple years ago, and the butterfly charm is another stash item.

 Meadow Fairy is one of my favorite fairies.  The techniques that are used on her are the same that are used on Posie Fairy.  To the left of her is another fabulous freebie from Michelle, the Create Butterfly.  Below Meadow Fairy is a birthday cake that I painted with dimensional acrylic paint and the Happy Birthday sentiment which are yet more freebies from Michelle.  As you can tell, membership has perks at Michelle's Paper Craft Planet group!  I love being able to coordinate several of her images to work together in my creations.

Here's a side view of the card.  All of the edges were inked with Adirondack Eggplant ink to add a bit of richness.  Since the lighter purple DP had stitching on it, I added dark purple stitching to the left side with a purple gel pen to coordinate the paper better.  I realize that this card is a bit over the top for the average birthday card, but isn't it fun to play with a card when you get a chance; especially when it's for a very special little girl?

I entered this in the Michelle Perkett Challenge Blog for  the Either or Challenge.

~~  Lee  ~~

Michelle Perkett Studio Earth Day Blog Hop

Welcome to my part of the Michelle Perkett Studio Earth Day Blog Hop!  I'm so happy that you decided to join us in celebrating this wonderful occasion.  If you arrived here from Ellen's blog, you are in the right place.  If not, you may want to go to the beginning of the hop at Michelle's blog here.  Even though so many people are realizing the importance of recycling and conserving energy, there's always more that we can do.  You don't have to have tons of plastic bins full of recycled materials to know that you are doing a part to help keep things out of the landfills. 

One of the major ways I recycle is to think twice before I toss things out.  Who would've thought that packaging for toothbrushes would yield something that could be used in a card?  I punched out the bubbles from this package to be used on my card.  One of Michelle's beautiful mermaids, Tropical Rhapsody, is the digital image that I used for this card.  She was colored with colored pencils and blended with baby oil that is a bit more earth friendly instead of the "odorless" mineral spirits that is a bit too chemical for me. 

My kids used to collect all kinds of shells when we vacationed, so I was able to use lots of these little beauties on Tropical Rhapsody's seaweed garland.  The seaweed was borrowed from a dried flower arrangement that had seen it's better days.  You must have some fish to swim with the mermaids, so I took apart an earring that I had lost the match to and attached them to the card.  I couldn't resist carrying the recycling theme a bit further by attaching the recycling symbol from the packaging of a ream of card stock that I normally use for my digi images. 

I like to keep an assortment of cards ready to go that will only need a quick sentiment attached to it to make ready to go.  Michelle's images are versatile enough that they can be used for so many occasions.  Instead of making one card at a time, I usually make several like cards at the same time so I have a supply of extra cards to use.  This also helps save on energy.  There are so many ways we can practice conservation, so with just a little forethought, you too could become a part of the solution!

Since I made you wait for the pics (yeah! I was finally able to load them...unfortunately it was operator error, not Blogger as I first thought!), I decided to post another card.  This one the digital image Pearl, also from Michelle Perkett Studio.  I used colored pencils to color her also.  The Make A Wish charm was taken from a card I received a couple years ago.  The green bubbles were taken from pieces of a kid's toy.  All of the rest is pretty self-explanatory.

Your next stop on the hop is with the multi-talented Betty. She does some real awesome drawing that are beyond belief! If you get lost along the way, you can always go back to Michelle's blog to find out who's next.

~~  Lee  ~~

Happy Earth Day!!!

Don't forget to stop back here on Sunday, April 25th for the Michelle Perkett Studio Earth Day Blog Hop!  Come check out the blogs in the hop to get some inspiration on how recycled materials can be used in your card making.  We hope to give you lots of ideas for items to use, so you can help us celebrate Earth Day everyday!

Have you ever thrown something away and later thought that would've been perfect for the project you're working on?  I constantly use recycled items like ribbons that were tied around gifts I've received, charms from parts of jewelry that have broken, vellum & other papers that I see in magazines or in junk mail, pieces or parts of toys and more.  Old clothing is a great source for buttons, pockets and lots of interesting ribbons and trims.  How about using everday household products to create your cards like stamping with bleach, create background papers with things like shaving cream that are speckled with reinkers and then pressed onto the card stock, spraying spray starch onto card stock and then sprinkle with Pearl Ex and spread with a sponge brush or maybe even using masking tape and ink pads to make paper look like leather?  These things are just a few items that can be used in our paper crafting. 

When you think of the amount of packaging that we throw away from the paper crafting products that we buy, don't we owe it to ourselves to try to use some of the packaging in our creations?  I save the acetate from packaging to make shaker cards and to stamp my scenery stamps onto to help me put all the parts together first without having to waste tons of paper.  Many people are already saving chipboard from packaging for their diecut machines.  Unfortunately, manufacturers use excess packaging to make their products looks larger so they will get noticed by us.  The next time you bring home new supplies try to think twice before you instantly toss everything into the trash.

Earth Day is a day to celebrate different ways that we can band together to make changes in the way that we normally operate.  Stop using those plastic shopping bags and bring your own reusable bags.  Turn off the water while you're brusing your teeth.  Turn the heat down or the air conditioning up a couple degrees from the temperatures that you normally choose.  Combine as many of your errands together or carpool so you can to save on gas and emissions.  Become knowledgeable about the world around us, and see if there is more you can do to help make this place a better world to live in!  Happy Earth Day everyone!

~~  Lee  ~~

BTW...Happy Birthday to my only brother, Dave, and my nephew, Danny.  Love you guys!

Princess Oceana Easel Card

I've been working on lots of different cards for the Operation Write Home Blog Hop this coming Saturday, but I took a break from this to make a challenge card.  If you follow my blog at all, you'll know I'm infatuated with Michelle Perkett's designs!  Needless to say, this card will be entered in the Michelle Perkett Inspiration and Challenge Blog.

As usual, this card had to have lots of sparkle.  Princess Oceana was printed onto white card stock from my HP printer and immediately embossed with clear detail embossing powder & heat set.  The image was colored with my trusty Prang colored pencils and blended with baby oil this time instead of Goo Gone.  The card stock I use is 110 weight, so the baby oil doesn't seep into the paper.  Her hair was highlighted with Icicle Stickles for some added bling.  I've had these small shells in my stash to use for my dollhouse miniatures, but since I've been making so many cards my miniatures have taken a back burner.  The glue I used to attach the shells to the card is called Quick-Dry Adhesive by Scotch.  This was another score at Big Lots for only $2.00!  The gold border around the image & the design paper & additional dots are made by a Pilot extra fine point Gold Marker.  The pearls needed dimesion since I added the shells, so I used Sakura gold metallic Opaque 3-D Crystal Lacquer on all of them.

The flowers on this easel card were hand-made by moi'!  I couldn't get a good color match with my silk flowers, so I tore several circles of the design paper from DCWV called Pocket Full of Posies.  Next I crumbled them up and flattened them back out with my hand.  They looked just a bit to plain for me, so I used a Pilot extra fine point Gold Marker to make dots all around each petal to help them coordinate more with the card.  After poking a hole in the center of each one, I added a brad from my stash to hold all of the layers together.  The flower on the right was a bit different from the others.  The center of this flower was made by first tearing a spiral from the paper.  Then I started from the center of the spiral and wrapped the rest of the paper around until I reached the end of the paper.  I had to play with it just a tad so I could see all of the layers.  From there I added a touch of glue on the end of the spiral, a brad through the center or this & the other two layers and then I had a flower!  Last but not least, is the addition of the Best Occasions rhinestones.

I love that this card with fold into a 4" square for mailing.  The soldiers that are serving overseas deserve some extra special cards, so I would love to send this out with the bundle I'm getting ready to go to Operation Write Home.  Unfortunately, this card has glitter which is not allowed, but I'm making another without the glitter because of the positive response I've received about it.  Many of the cards I send to them are ones that I can reproduce quickly, but it's nice to put in some cards that take a little more work.  I know from personal experience that the soldiers are very appreciative of all of the cards that we send.  BTW, I still don't know yet when my daughter's leaving for Afghanistan, but I'll post it as soon as I know. 

Challenges:  Paper Sundaes 9th Challenge - Multi-Fold

Michelle Perkett 20th Challenge - Recipe Challenge  ~~I WON!!!!! ~~

Crafty Creations Challenge 58 - Make Your own Flowers

Cupcake Craft Challenges:  Challenge 81 - Flower Power

Don't forget to stop back on Saturday to join in the blog hop!  I'll have some blog candy to give to one lucky winner that participates in the hop!

~  Lee  ~

Michelle Perkett Studio Ballerina Bunny

I had to take advantage of an excellent sale that Michelle Perkett Studio had on her digi images not too long ago, and now it's time that I showed some of what I've done with them!  This card was made with her new  Bunny image.  Isn't she just adorable!  I used the sketch from the Michelle Perkett Studio Challenge Blog this week for the card.

I hope that you will check out the information I posted below or at the top of my sidebar about the Operation Write Home Blog Hop that will be held on Saturday, March 20th.  This hop will have a bit more meaning to me now since my daughter just found out yesterday that she will be deployed again.  The last time she went to Iraq, and this time her unit will be going to Afghanistan.  For those of you that don't know, she is a Sgt. in the 220th MP Unit in the Colorado Army National Guard.  She will find out in the next couple days if she will be leaving in May or December.  Needless to say, it was because of her that I found out about OWH, so now it will mean much more since I will actually know these soldiers again firsthand.  I'll let everyone know as soon as I find out when she will be leaving.
~  Lee  ~

Details:

Image:  Michelle Perkett Studio

Design Paper:  Colorbok $1.00 set from Target

Coloring:  Colored Pencils blended with Goo Gone

Rhinestones: Pink - Colorbok, Clear - Stash

Bling:  Clear Stickles

Faux Stitching:  Gel Pens

Punches:  Fiskars Border Punch E Corner Punches

Birthday Goodies With Michelle Perkett's Butterfly Fairy

If you're here for the Michelle Perkett Studio's Love Letter Blog Hop, please scroll down. This is my second posting today.

This awesome Butterfly Fairy is a digital image from Michelle Perkett. I've been playing with some ideas for birthday parties, so I thought I'd show you what I've made so far.  This card is pretty much self explanatory, so I'll just list the deets below.  The Stairstep card uses the same products as the card with the addition of a few items.  This will be used on the present table to help tie everything together.  I wouldn't advise you to make the stairstep card the way I did through trial & error.  I know there are instructions out there, but I figured that I could do it easy enough since I finally have a scoring board.  NOT!  Try Splitcoast Stampers or Paper Craft Planet to see if they have any tutorials on their sites.  I also forgot to take a picture of the back of the pencil topper.  I'll try to remember to add it later.  Maybe I'll have my new camera by then, so you don't have to look at these horrid pictures anymore!   ~  Lee  ~

Images:  Michelle Perkett Studio - Butterfly Fairy, Dream Dragonfly, Happy Birthday With Small Cake, Valentine or Birthday Presents

Card Stock:  Stampin' Up!, Georgia Pacific & The Paper Store

Design Paper:  DCWV  Once Upon A Time Mat Stack

Stash Items:  Butterfly & Dragonfly Charms, Rhinestones, Fibers

Glitter:  Magic Scraps

Colored Pencils:  Prismacolor & Prang

Colored Pencil Blender:  Goo Gone

Challenges:  Flutter By Wednesday's Challenge

My Time to Craft Challenge:  Fairy Folk

Don't forget to scroll down for the Michelle Perkett Studio Love Letter Blog Hop and details about my blog candy!

Michelle Perkett Studio Love Letter Blog Hop

I'm finally able to post my pics.  Sorry for the inconvenience!

Welcome to the Michelle Perkett Studio Love Lettter Blog Hop!  If you haven't seen any of Michelle's awesome digital stamps before, then you will be in for a treat!  On top of that, we have a major lineup of awesome bloggers that will show you even more eye candy!  I'll also be offering some blog candy to one of my followers that comments, so make sure you check the bottom of this post to see what you could win!

If you came here from Anjou's blog, you're at the right spot.  If you started here, you're also at the right spot!  This isn't a progressive blog that you need to collect info from each site and fit it together.  If you want to start at the beginning, you can go to Michelle's blog.  We just want you to take in all of this awesome eye candy and hopefully get a few ideas along the way to make some wonderful creations with Michelle Perkett Studio's digital stamps!

Now for my love letter:

Dear Stoney,
I must admit, in the beginning I was a little apprehensive about bringing you into my household.  I've been living alone for years, so I'm pretty set on my ways.  I know I'm probably not the easiest person in the world to get along with due to my Crohn's Disease and other health issues, but through all of these problems you have continued to stand by my side.  You always seem to know when I feeling pain, and you try your best to help me take my mind off of it.   

You came to me as a working dog, but now you have become my best friend.  I can talk to you about anything, and never have to worry about criticism or being laughed at.  When I drop things when I'm working on my cards, you are there to pick things up for me.  Even though I tried to resist opening my heart to you in the beginning, it didn't take long for you to melt my heart!  I've always had dogs, but I wasn't sure how a dog could be content with my sedentary lifestyle. 

I can't imagine my life without you now.  I thought you might be too much work in the beginning, but now I'm glad I brought you into my home and my heart.  Some people would probably say that my feelings for you is just gratitude, but they wouldn't be right.  You will always have a big spot in my heart, and I couldn't be happier!

This is becoming a very long post, so I'll keep the deets to a minimum.  I printed my image out onto white card stock with the best print setting.  As quickly as possible, I added clear detail embossing powder to the image and heat set it.  After coloring the Love Fairy with colored pencils and blending with a blender stump dipped in Goo Gone, the whole image was cut down to size.  

This card is entered in the Stamp Something Weekly Challenge "Love Somethings"
The Order of the Opeus Gluei Challenge #41 "Let Your Love Show" using Red, Pink and White
Papertake Weekly Challenge Love Actually
Penny's Paper-Crafty Challenge Blog - Valentine's/Love
La-La Land Crafts Blog - Use Hearts

Image:  Michelle Perkett Studio
Ink:  Memories
Cardstock:  The Paper Store
Design Paper:  Target $1 Shop
Stickers:  EK Success Swirl & Target $1 Shop
Ribbon:  Martha Stewart
Glitter:  Magic Scraps
Rhinestones:  K & Co.
Flowers:  My stash
Punches:  Fiskars Corner Embossing Punch & EK Success Corner Rounder

I listed all of the blog sites below, so if you happen to have issues with your browser and need to cut and paste the blog address to make them work.  You can always go back to Michelle's blog if you have any problems and to report any broken links.  You next stop is CABIO'S BLOG.  I'm sure you'll love her awesome work as much as I do!

Michelle's Blog:  http://michelleperkett.blogspot.com/
Tammy  http://tmaynard.blogspot.com/
Ellen  http://tinktime-tink.blogspot.com/
Rhonda  http://bluepoohbear753.blogspot.com/
Jennifer B.  http://justjennifersstamping.blogspot.com/
Jenn Dove  http://just4funcrafts.blogspot.com/
Pattie  http://pattiescreations.blogspot.com/
Maria  http://joyfulstamper.blogspot.com/
Gini  http://ginicagle.blogspot.com/
Melissa  http://ihaveprettierstuff.blogspot.com/
Anjou  http://askagainart.blogspot.com/
Lee  http://stampingwithgrandmalee.blogspot.com/  ME!
Cabio  http://cabioscraftcorner.blogspot.com/
Jana  http://stampingeek.blogspot.com/
Pauline  http://paulineguttrey.blogspot.com/
Nancy  http://nancyskortblogg.blogspot.com/
Kerri  http://fotf-constellations.blogspot.com/
Micki  http://www.artfulxpressions.net/
Barbara S.  http://scrapworld-scrap2day.blogspot.com/
Mary D.  http://cr8iveme.blogspot.com/
Sheng  http://livelaughlovetomorrowmaynevercome.blogspot.com/
Crystal M. Smith  http://cardsmith.blogspot.com/
Lynne  http://www.doodlebuglynne.blogspot.com/
Marilyn Webb  http://marilynscardsandmore.blogspot.com/
Seongsook  http://www.seongsookduncan.blogspot.com/
Adele  http://nogards-space.blogspot.com/
Mez  http://mezzacraft.blogspot.com/
Christy Dillman  http://christyszaneycreations.blogspot.com/
Deanne  http://a-scrapaddict.blogspot.com/
Sarah  http://sarahscrazycreations.blogspot.com/
Christine  http://changeofheart56.blogspot.com/
Ileana  http://allthingsthatmakemehappy.blogspot.com/
Susan  http://killamcreative.blogspot.com/
Sammi  http://stuffbysammi.blogspot.com/
Gina  http://ginasmakingsandmusings.blogspot.com/
Alison  http://www.stretchnbubbles2.blogspot.com/
Tami  http://teamgingerbread.blogspot.com/
Tricia  http://www.triciastreasures.blogspot.com/
Michelle Perkett Studio challenge blog  http://michelleperkettstudio.blogspot.com/

I suppose you want to know what the blog candy is!  I'll be offering two individual Michelle Perkett Studio's digitals of your choice to one of my followers that has left a comment.  Check back tomorrow after 6:00 p.m. MST to see if you've won.   ~  Lee  ~

Michelle Perkett Challenge #14 card

This card was made using the Michelle Perkett Studio Meadow Fairy digital stamp.  The digi was printed onto Georgia Pacific card stock using my HP printer.  Next, I colored her with colored pencils without a blender except for the background.  A fairy must have some bling, so I added a couple rhinestones from my stash to the centers of some of the flowers. 

Since she is a meadow fairy, what else could I use but A Pocket Full of Posies DP from DCWV?  The ribbon is also the coordinating adhesive ribbon from DCWV.  The textured matting is from the Brights DCWV matstack and all of it was put on a card from my stash.  The paper ribbon is from my stash & the bling on the left corner is from a Martha Stewart glitter card kit.  I cut some pieces from one of the branches and added some Magic Scraps glitter to it.  I added some yarn from my stash to make the image stand out better and then used a white gel pen to make some dots around the borders.  Last, but not least, are a couple jewels from Prima.

I made this card for the Michelle Perkett Studio Challenge #14.  This challenge was to follow the sketch pictured here.  Why not join us for the next challenge over at Michelle Perkett's Challenge Blog?  ~  Lee  ~

Pearl's Got the Blues

It looks like I'm stuck on the color blue here, but that's because you don't see the tons of other cards I did between these postings!

This card features a new release from Michelle Perkett Studio called Pearl.  This one doesn't have a lot of supplies for once.  I printed her on cardstock from my HP printer & embossed her with Ultra fine clear embossing powder.  Next I colored her with colored pencils & blended with a blending stump and Goo Gone.  Then I highlighted her with several different colors of Magic Scraps with a Zig glue pen.  I wanted dimension on the pearls, so I put Blue Pearl 3-D Crystal Laquer on top of the colored pearls.  After she dried, I cut her out, added the eyelash yarn from my stash and then glued the image on to the card with a glue runner.

Challenge:
Inspiration Challenge for the NEW Michelle Perkett Challenge Blog
This was inspired by Michelle's Forest Fairy, Emerald Enchantment and Winter cards that were all done in monochromatic colors.  I originally was going to make Pearl's skin flesh toned, but I decided to experiment and I'm glad I did.  ~  Lee  ~

Michelle Perkett Mermaid Card Winner at PCP

Well, I finally won my first challenge!  Yippee!  I'm so honored especially since the other cards were so unbelievably gorgeous!  The challenge I won was the last one held on Michelle Perkett Studio's Paper Craft Planet page.  From now on, the challenges will be held on Michelle Perkett's Studio Design Challenge Blog.  The challenge for this week will be to go to Michelle's Etsy Store and pick one of the works of art in her Etsy store and use this as an inspiration piece.  The weekly challenges will be posted on Tuesdays.

My winning card is a digital image called Tutti Fruiti Mermaid from Michelle Perkett Studio.  The image was printed on The Paper Company shimmer paper from my HP printer and embossed it with Kaleidoscope Embossing Powder by Stampendous.  The trick is to get the embossing powder on the image as soon as you take it from the printer when it's still wet.  I choose heidi grace designs shimmer foiled paper called Beyond the Sea/Tinsel for the main panels of my card.  The cardstock and matting are from Hobby Lobby.

The image was colored with colored pencils that were blended with Goo Gone.  I then cut the image out with a craft knife.  This image really screamed for lots of bling, so I gave it to her.  Her hair was highlighter with Orange Stickles and Red Amos Glitter Glue Sparkle.  The pearls were accented with the irridescent glitter glue from Amos and her tail's scales were highlighted with the green.  The ends of the curliques were hard to cut out, so I added some Magic Scraps glitter to the ends to hide some of my cutting mistakes. 

Tutti-Frutti's gorgeous ring and the corners of the card were highlighted with rhinestones I found in a package of a kid's manicure set.  To make her stand out better, she was matted on this beautiful orange mulberry paper I won on eBay.  I've had this sparkly yarn for a while in my stash, so I used it around the DCWV Pocket Full of Posies Adhesive Ribbon.  Originally, I had tried to gold leaf the edges, but it didn't show up, so I used these Strasbourg rub-ons with some rhinestone bling.

Hurry on over to Michelle's blog or her etsy shop to see all of her gorgeous digi stamps that she has to offer.  As for me, I'm going shopping with the gift certificate I won!    ~  Lee  ~