#1 Mom Tag

Happy Monday fellow bloggers.  Today's tag celebrates Mother's Day, or any other special occassion where you want to celebrate your #1 Mom!

I started with one of Prima's large tags from julie Nutting and added a piece of one of the Firefly papers from the 6 X 6 pad. I also stamped a piece of white card stock with a background ATC (artist trading card) size stamp from Invoke Art, and adhered it to the tag with the scrapbook paper.  I stamped the Doll stamp, Girl with pocket dress from Prima, and the Girl with strapless dress and crown (also from Prima) on white card stock with tuxedo black ink from Memento so I could color them in with my Copic Markers. I then cut out both dolls to use on my tag. The Doll with the strapless dress and crown was used in the cream colored resin frame embellishment from Websters Pages. I also added some color to the frame with my Copic markers, before adhering the unit to the tag with Ranger Glossy Accents.

The Doll with the pocket dress was adhered to the tag with foam tape to give it more dimension. I used Pan Pastels in violet to shade around the doll to make a shadow on the tag. I then stamped a tendril stem on to the tag and glued a dimensional Mini Daisy flower made from the Susan's Garden Collection of dies from Sizzix. I am a big fan of Susan Tierney-Cockburn who designed this line of flower making dies for Sizzix.  About 6+ years ago I took some classes from Susan when she was promoting paper punches she designed for the Punch Bunch, and I have been a been a big fan, and have taught several classes of flower making using those punches. I am so glad she decided to design the thin dies, because those punches get a little heavy when you lug them around to classes.

To finish off this tag, I stamped the #1 Mom stamp from Fiskars at the top of the tag and added another strip of the stamped paper to the top of the tag to cover the hole. You could now use this tag to decorate the cover of a long card that fits a #10 size long envelope, or just use the tag as is for your card. There is plenty of room on the back to write any message you like. Please visit me again this week for more ideas for Mother's Day cards, and don't forget to leave a comment on my blog to be eligible to win a chance at my Blog-aversary Prize Package to be given away May 12, 2013. See you again soon.

Time to Celebrate Mothers



Greetings fellow bloggers! It's time to celebrate our Mothers.  Mother's Day is just two weeks away, and depending on how many Mom's you send cards to, you'd better get started creating so you can get yours in the mail in time for the holiday.  I have this problem, getting cards in the mail in time for the holidays. Even though I think I know how long it takes to get mail to my friends and relatives, something always happens to throw a monkey wrench into my plans. So lets get started on today's card.

This card was made on a 5" X 7" ivory card base. For the background black, I used an A2 card and cut it in half and rounded the corners with my Corner Chomper.  The next layer, the printed paper, was cut to 3" X 41/2" from the Sunshine paper collection by My Minds Eye. It had the beautiful scrolling background with the antique sewing machine and music already printed on it.(I also chomped the corners of this!)  The little girl stamp is from the Pure Innocence "Freckles" stamp set from My Favorite Things. She was stamped on white card stock with Memento Tuxedo Black ink, and colored in with my Copic markers. The "Happy Mother's Day" stamp is from the Fiskars Holiday Collection, and was also stamped with Tuxedo Black to match the antique coloring of the sewing machine on the paper.  The scallop border and the "she looked oh so French" border were from the Mixed Media Border Stamp Set from Prima. I attached the scallop border to the top of the black background with a gold 1/8" grosgrain ribbon glued on top. To complete the card, I stamped the phrase on each side of the landscape placement, attached the little freckled girl with foam tape to pop her up just a bit, and used glue dots to adhere three Blu Raspberry buttons from My Favorite Things to the right hand side of the card.

So whether you are sending or giving that "one special lady" a card for Mother's Day, or you have a whole list of  "stand-in Mother's" hand make a beautiful card for them, to show you really care.  They will appreciate it more than you will ever know! And until next time, "Happy Stamping!"

Peace, Love, and Margaritas

Fiesta in San Antonio is drawing to a close this weekend. The cards for today celebrate every day here in South Texas, not only during Fiesta. We have mariachis, sombreros, and margaritas that flow 365 days a year.

The backgrounds for these cards were made from the Firefly 6 X 6 paper pad from Prima, and the guitars were cut from the Folk Art Festival cartridge from Cricut. The phrase stamp, "Peace, Love, and Margaritas" the small sombrero, the margarita glass, and peace sign are all stamps from Mark at Deadbeat Designs.  The peace sign was stamped with the Blue Raspberry ink from ColorBox and the phrase, sombrero, and margarita were stamped with Tuxedo black ink from Memento. They were then colored in with my Copic markers and the margarita glass was highlighted with Icicle Stickles.

I hope everyone is having a wonderful weekend, whether you are out enjoying the great outdoors, or staying in. I personally, am staying in this weekend to work on some cards for next month, Mother's Day cards for the 12th of May, and a new project for a dear friend who is having a birthday near the end of May. Thank you for stopping by for a visit, and don't forget to leave a comment on my blog, to be registered for my 1 year Blog-aversary Give-Away.  See you soon.

Mindy 

Fiesta Time in Texas

Fiesta 2013 is coming to a close this weekend. Scheduled is the Battle of Flowers Parade, and the Fiesta Flambeau Parade, and several other events that are so much fun to attend.

My project for today is a tag, made with the julie Nutting Tag Pad from Prima and one of her Doll stamps; Doll with sleeveless dress. I stamped her on the tag with Tuxedo Black Memento ink and colored her in with my Copic Color Markers. I paper pieced her dress, also colored with Copics, and popped  it up with foam tape so that I could add a colored lace border at the top and bottom of the dress. I also added a Prima rose at her waist, and several sticky pearls on her crown to embellish her attire.

 I cut the letters of Fiesta from various colored card stock with the Folk Art Festival cartridge from Cricut, and backed each with a paper banner cut from the Firefly card stock 6" X 6" paper pad. I then adhered them to the right side of the tag and tied coordinating strips of grosgrain ribbon for bows at each end of the banner, and tied a white bias tape bow at the top of the tag for accent. To finish off the tag, I stamped dots of bright colored ink from my K & Co. Smash Book Ink Wand all over the tag to help it's colors tie in to the festive color scheme of the banner.

I want to thank you for stopping by my blog today.  Be sure to check out the previous post for instructions on how to register for my Blog-aversary Prize Package that will be given away on or about May 12, 2013. I will see you again soon.

Mindy

Blog-aversary Give-Away

ATTENTION!  ATTENTION! The 1 year anniversary of my blog is coming May 9, 2013!  To celebrate this remarkable year, I am having a giveaway now through May 11th. Leave a comment on my blog, and for each comment, your name will be entered in the giveaway for the blog-aversary prize.

From my blog page, you may register your email to receive notices when I post on my blog. From these notices you can go to my blog and leave your comment for that post. There are several ways to connect to my blog, the easiest is to receive the afore mentioned emails and then click on the link at the bottom of the page. You must have a Google account (which by the way is FREE to sign up for) or one of several others. OR you can just type into your browser http://mulberrymindy.blogspot.com to connect to it there.Once there, you just follow the post down to the comment section, sign in and post your thoughts and comments.

Contents of the prize package include:
- 6 X 6 Firefly paper pad from Prima
- julie Nutting Tag Pad from Prima
- Firefly Journaling Note Card Set from Prima
-Love Words mini Chipboard set from Maya Road
-Liquid Pearls- White Opal- from Ranger
- 3 each Resin Embellishment Frames from Websters Pages and
- Encore Collection Ivory Paper Flower Embellishments from Prima

These products would make a lovely Mother's Day gift for someone you love, or yourself. I have used many of them on the upcoming Mother's Day and Birthday cards I have been making lately. I hope you will take the time to sign up for my blog, and then let me know what you think about my postings, or what you might like to see me post about, as long as it pertains to paper, ink, stamps and the like. I really enjoy reading all your comments, and answering any questions you may have about card making, scrapbooks, art journals, and many other types of paper arts.

Have a great day, and to share a quote I read earlier this week, " Enjoy  ART, because without it this E A R T H would just be  E H!

Mindy

Just Buzzin' By. . . . .

Just Buzzin' by to say Hi, fellow stampers and Card Makers.

Today's card creation uses the Doodle Garden Sweet as Can Be stamp set from My Favorite Things. I started off using a black card stock base card and rounded off the corners with my 1/4" Corner Chomper, and then chomped the corners off my background paper, "Sunshine" from My Mind's Eye.  I then stamped the little bee girl and the sayings on white Blending card stock with Tuxedo Black ink from Memento before coloring in with my Copic markers.  After coloring the image and shading with my Copics, I used the matching Spica Glitter pen to add sparkle to her wings. Then I fussy cut around the image, and added foam tape to the back to make her pop off the card.
I used my ink applicator tool and Wild Honey Distress Ink to shade around the white background where the sayings were, and just barely touched the edges with Rusty Hinge to darken the edges. the "just buzzin' by" saying is part of the MFT stamp set, and the BZZZZZZ! is part of a different set. I can't remember right off who makes that set, but if you will drop me a line, I will look it up for you.

To assemble the card, I used double sided adhesive to adhere the dotted background to the base card, then adhered the sayings with double sided tape. Next, I had a scrap strip of the yellow dotted background paper that I attached just below the edge of the white square, and then attached my little "Bee" to that strip, along with a pretty yellow button.(also from MFT)
At the top left hand corner I attached a BZZZZ! phrase with foam tape also, to give dimension.

I hope you are having a wonderful weekend, wherever you are. Stay safe and bee-happy and I will see you again soon.

Mindy

Happy Fiesta 2013!

Happy Fiesta, San Antonio, 2013!

It is party-time here in San Antonio. Although many think we party everyday, our BIG party event started this weekend through next weekend. Fiesta consists of lots of food, family, and FUN throughout the city. There are carnival rides for the kids, parades and pageants for the adults, and lots of food and drink for all!

There are also lots of arts and crafts on display and for sale all over the city, especially in the venues where the special activities are being held.

My card today, is a celebrating Fiesta card, with the Pure Innocence girl from My Favorite Things stamps. The Serenity set has the cute little girl sitting in a yoga pose, but works well for a girl sitting outside with her sparkler fireworks, celebrating Fiesta!  The letters spelling out fiesta, are cut from the Folk Art Favorites cartridge from Cricut, and the fireworks are from Deadbeat Designs stamps with a piece of twine used for their stick handle. I  stamped the Serenity Girl with  Memento Tuxedo black ink on white card stock, and then colored her with my Copic Markers. The fireworks were stamped with white Color Box ink and then Stickled over with Diamonds and Starburst Stickles. The die cut letters were cut from various colors of card stock, glued on to the black card base, then outlined with a white gel pen and glitter gel pen to really make them sparkle.

The weekend is here again, and if you are out celebrating Fiesta, celebrate responsibly, and have a wonderful weekend!

I Wheelie Like You and Blogaversary Giveaway

Hello fellow Card Makers!
Today's post is very special to me. First of all, it showcases one of my favorite stamps of the new season at My Favorite Things stamps, Pure Innocence- I Wheelie Like You! and secondly, it announces my first year blog-aversary which is coming up on May 9, 2013. 

I would first like to tell you about how I created this card. I started with a black A2 size card base, and added a strip of background paper, "Firefly" by Prima Marketing.  I then stamped off my Wheelie girl on a piece of white cardstock and colored her with copic markers. After shading her shirt, jeans, and face, I fussy cut around the entire image, leaving an 1/16" border. I also stamped one of the Bannerrific borders from Lawn Fawn stamps on the white stock, and added one of the sentiments from the Wheelie girl set. I then colored the banner in, also with my copic markers.  Next I adhered my girl and her bike to the center of the card with the banner down below. I took a piece of Leaf ribbon from my stash, and glued it to the left side of the card. I added flowers with Liquid Pearls in Heather and Flamingo, and the centers with Stickles- Firefly.  I also accented the background swirls in the paper with the Firefly stickles on the right side. As soon as the liquid pearls and stickles were dry, I added a matching journaling note from Firefly-Prima to the inside of the card, so I would have a light colored area in which to write a personal message.

Now for the FUN part!  Beginning today, Monday, April 15th, through Saturday, May 11th, anytime you leave a comment on my blog post, your name will be entered to win my First Annual Blog-aversary Give-Away!  My actual blog-aversary is May 9, 2013, and to celebrate this first remarkable year, I am going to give away a wonderful prize package, most of which is from Prima, one of my favorite companies. I don't have all of the items locked in for the prize package yet, but will have a picture and list within a few days. All I can tell you is that there are a lot of FUN things included for cardmakers, scrapbookers, mixed-media artists and art journalers!  So be sure to check back regularly, or sign up to receive an email when I post.  You can do that at the top right hand corner of my blog page.  Then you will know you haven't missed a post.

Thank you for stopping by today, I hope you all have a wonderful and productive week! I will return with more goodies and projects soon.  Happy Stampin'!

Yipes! Stripes!

Yipes! Stripes! A horse in his striped pajamas!  Today's card has been sitting on my desk for several weeks, with no special theme. I had these zebra striped cards from a box of animal print cards by Die Cuts with a View, yet had never used the zebra striped ones. I finally found a wonderful zebra stamp, and stamped it on a white kraft tag a month or so ago with Memento Tuxedo black ink. I used my copic markers to shade around the zebra stamp to give depth, and around the letters on the banner stamp "Bannerific" from Lawn Fawn. I also had a small black accent tag that I decided to use behind the zebra for more umpff!  I cut around part of the zebra's body with my Xacto knife and made a pocket for the tag to fit in, before adhering the white tag to the front of the card.  I then attached my "LOVE" banner below the white tag, and added a strip of numbered washi tape to the tag edge.

Although it doesn't show well in the photo, I adhered a black & red gingham check ribbon tied in a bow, to the small black tag before sticking it in the pocket. I haven't decided what to write on the black tag yet, it is for a dear friend who has a birthday coming up in the next week and a half. I will have to use my white gel pen to write a message on the black tag, so I will have to hunt down the white pen. (I always have trouble finding the white pen, I should buy several and leave them all around the house so I can find one when I need it.) 

I didn't realize it had been so long since my last post. I was busy doing my taxes, and I guess they took longer than I expected. But thank goodness they are done now, and I can get back to my card making and art journaling. I would much rather work on art than taxes!  I hope you all have a great weekend, and aren't stuck indoors doing YOUR taxes at the last minute. I will be stamping and having FUN!  See you again soon.

You're A Doll!

Happy Spring Friends!  Today's tag's are using my Doll  stamp from Julie Nutting, and Prima Flowers. The stamp name is Doll with Peasant Dress, and it is one of my favorites right at the moment. It is about 71/4" tall and fits on the 81/2" Prima Tag beautifully. I also can't wait to use her in my Art Journal, as she will be just the right size for the pages.

The large Prima tags are pre-stamped with a light stamping of words, but they are very light and hard to read. I inked around the edges with my Tim Holtz Distress ink in Salty Ocean and then stamped the doll stamp with Memento Tuxedo Black ink.  I paper pieced her dress with a piece of printed scrap book paper and colored her hair and skin and shoes with my Copic markers.  I also made a faux paper casting of flowers for down the left side of the tag, using my Australian flowers Bolilio stamp from Judikins.  The bunny cut-out is from the Folk Art Fiesta cartridge from Cricut. To finish off the tag, I stamped colored dots from my Smash Inks from K & Company behind the doll and tied a length of ribbon at the top of the tag.

My second tag uses the Doll with Peasant Dress stamp also, but I hand cut a different style of Peasant Dress for her. When you paper piece a design such as this, you can easily change the clothing with just a few stamping modifications. I just masked off the bottom flounce of the dress when I stamped the image, and then put the paper pieced long dress over the body parts. After base coloring with my copic markers, I used foam tape to adhere the dress. The background of this tag is another large Prima Tag highlighted with Crushed Olive distress ink and several stampings of a daisy stamp and polka dots. My embellishments for this tag were a stamped

piece of card stock with the Damask Background stamp from Paper Wings Productions with another faux paper casting piece off a button card stamp.  On the blog  from Paper Wings Productions (click here), you can search the archives for March 5, 2013, and Dana did a tutorial on the Faux Paper Casting Technique. It is very easy to do, and turns out really great in less than half the time and less than half the expense of regular paper casting.. I also used foam tape to pop up a punched out heart which I adorned with Hydrangea Liquid Pearls.(I also drew on a little necklace with the liquid pearls.)

To complete the embellishments, I added a piece of sparkly trim at the bottom of the tag, and a piece of braid tied at the top for a hanger loop.

There are six variations of the Julie Nutting Doll stamps by Prima that have been really popular. Most of the suppliers are already out of stock, so I am on several waiting lists for the stamps when they come in.
I read somewhere that there may be more coming out in July along with a book by Julie.  I have really enjoyed her designs so far, and am looking forward to seeing more from this designer.

Which leads me to mention that my "One Year Blogaversary" is coming up on May 9, 2013. Beginning about the middle of April, I will be promoting a Give-Away that will be held during my Blogaversary. I will have a prize package to give away, and you can place your name in the drawing just by visiting and leaving a comment on my blog during the contest period. More information to come soon!
I really do appreciate the visitors that leave comments on my blog, and this will give me an opportunity to Thank you in another way.  I hope you will tell your friends about my blog, and anyone that is interested in stamping, or mixed media art. Until I visit with you again, have a great week, and keep on "Stampin".