Thank You, Jane Allen, and MFT!

This piggy is expressing my joy and gratitude to Jane Allen and the MFT family.  Now, he understands that pineapples are a symbol for hospitality, but little does he know they also go great with a roasted ham (shh, don't tell).  I had the incredible opportunity to take Jane's no-line coloring class at the MFT Boutique in Eustis, Florida this past weekend.  Jane was so inspiring, and I practiced many of the techniques she taught us in class on this card:

I kept the card design simple, and stamped the sentiment, "I'm your piggest fan" from the Sow Much Cuteness stamp set on the inside.

Supplies Used:
Stamps:  Sow Much Cuteness (pig and inside sentiment), Polynesian Paradise (pineapples and sentiment), Ewe Are the Best (hill)
Dies: Largest Die-namics Stitched Square Frame
Paper: Kraft cardstock
Ink:  Memento Angel Pink, Pear Tart, Desert Sand, PTI Cocoa Bean
Copics:  0, C0,1,2,3, W1, R000,00,02, G20,40,46, YG0000,17,61,63,67, B000, YR23, Y00,21,23, E30,31,33,35

Thank you for stopping by to visit.  I hope you are having a wonderful day!
Thanks again, MFT and Jane!  Your teaching and hospitality exceeded my expectations!

Kara Lynne

Tag, You're It #69 with Joyce Mehrberg

Today we start a new challenge over at Tag, You're It!  Joyce Mehrberg, my dear blogging pal, is our featured artist, and her tag is so much fun!  Here's how I was inspired:

Here is Joyce's tag:

I love Joyce's fluffy pompom and that wonderful cat!  Pompoms remind me of roller skating, so that's the direction I took with my tag.  I kept the rest one-layered like Joyce's tag.  I didn't have a roller skate stamp, so I printed an image on cardstock and die cut the tag around it.  I shaded it with Copics and stamped the sentiment.

Here's how I attached the pompom on the back:

Supplies:
Stamps: Lawn Fawn Let's Play
Dies:  PTI Basic Bookmark 3
Copics: BG000, BG02
Ink:  SSS Intense Black
Other: 80s Roller Skating Clipart from Clipart Kid, Clover pompom maker - small (the larger of the two), Red Heart Soft Baby Steps - Aqua (yarn)

The team was inspired in many different directions by Joyce's tag, so go on over, take a look, and play along with Tag, You're It #69.

Thanks for coming over to visit!  I hope you have a great day!
Kara Lynne

Tag, You're It #68 with Gayatri Murali and a Blooper!

Have you seen the challenge going on over at Tag, You're It?  It's the midway point, so there is still plenty of time to play along.  Gayatri Murali gave us a fun tag, and I immediately wanted to CASE it!

Here is Gayatri's super fun tag:

It's pretty obvious that I was inspired by the brick background and the sweet dog.  I also took note of her sentiment banner, and the curly dog leash at the top.

Supplies:

Stamps:  Katzelkraft Les Chiens, SSS You Matter, Penny Black Brick Wall

Dies:  MFT Stiched Cloud Borders, PTI Tag Sale #10

Inks/Paint:  DI Tumbled Glass, Hickory Smoke, Fired Brick,  Making Memories acrylic paint - Steel, Chocolate

Copics: C00, 1, 3, 5, 7, 100, R24, 27, 29, 59, 20, 81, 83, RV000, Y

Other:  SSS Fine detail white embossing powder, coated wire of unknown origin

You also probably know that Darnell has a fun challenge going on at her blog which is a combination of an April Fools Hop and NBUS Challenge #11.

This is the first time I've used this particular dog from the Les Chiens set, but I have used the set before, so let's move on to the Boo Boos, shall we?

Since I had some snippets left over from the tag, I planned on making my brother's 50th birthday card using the same materials.  I like the look of die cutting and layering a background, so I decided to do that with the brick wall.  As card designs usually take on a life of their own, the design went far away from the circle focal, and it ended looking like a glaring random element to the design.  Then I wanted to make some balloons out of the number 50, so I partial cut the numerals out of acetate, leaving space for balloon nubs on the bottom.  I tried to color them with Copics.  I hoped to find a method to smooth out the streaky lines, but nothing really worked.  I moved onto vellum, but that wasn't great either.  As you will see in the photo, I even lost the bottom border of grass that was cut with the stitched lines. 

I did salvage the card, as it is for my brother, and even though he cares about me, my card making skills will not be critically evaluated:

I just used the circle portion of the brick wall, and ink blended regular white cardstock for the balloons with Mowed Lawn and Carved Pumpkin Distress Ink.  I also used a smaller kraft card base to narrow the focus a bit.

Supplies not listed from the tag:

Dies:  MFT Pierced Circle Frames, Grassy Hills, By the Numbers, SSS Stitched Rectangles

Thanks for coming over to visit.  I hope you get a chance to play along over at Tag, You're It! and maybe you'll even have cause to link up with the April Fools hop too!  Have a wonderful day!

Kara Lynne