A Touch of Easter From Our Back Yard

He is risen!

Spring Has Sprung!

 

I'm still in love with this little bunny girl stamp. She's a lot tinier than she looks here and I think that's part of her charm. I stamped her with black Versa-fine permanent ink and colored her in with Faber-Castell colored markers (thank you, Valerie!).

After coloring the dresses I spritzed a little Color Shine on my craft mat and used a fine paint brush to paint the dresses so they would sparkle. Her shoes and rose got a coat of Glossy Accents, her ears a touch of sparkly clear Stickles. The ears weren't glued down so they could be bent forward, a touch I think makes her that much more adorable.

The "Spring has sprung" piece was stamped on polka-dotted paper, cut out and popped up with a pop-dot. On the inside I added 3 tiny confetti eggs to the corner.

 

Along top are 3 strips of Washi (paper) tape I picked up at Costco a while back. I matched them to the colors of each dress. I used two strips of grass stickers along the bottom, placing them so that some of the strands of grass covered her shoes so it looked more like she was standing in the midst of it.

I wanted to make more, but her little legs were a booger to cut. I'm mailing them so late in the game I decided to make them Spring cards instead of saying happy Easter. Think anyone will notice?

Card Crafting

I've been busy making cards for a few people, yay! This first card was made for someone to whom I wanted to send a bit of encouragement.

I wanted to send something uplifting, so I chose this adorable bunny stamp. I'm so in love with her! I stamped her then colored her with Faber-Castell pens, my first piece using them. Valerie surprised me with them and I wasn't sure if I would do them justice, but I think I did okay. I ran a die-cut piece through my Vagabond inside a dotted swiss embossing folder to give her a sweet backdrop. I finished off the inside by die-cutting the sentiment, "Find what brings you joy and go there." I love that word...joy.

The next card was made for my brother's mother-in-law, Patricia, born on Saint Patrick's Day 85 years ago! She really is a blessing. I tried a technique I saw on YouTube by Sari Hanninen using dies as templates as well as leaving the die attached to the paper after it's cut. After securing it with Washi tape it's ready to be inked up. When the die is removed a nifty border is revealed, which gives it more depth. I used it on the two yellow pieces and really like how it turned out. What do you think?

I made the next card for my daughter's co-worker who was promoted. I bought the lettering with Robin in mind because it looked office-y (and it was on sale!). I came across the bird print paper in my stash and thought, hmm, I wonder... The lettering and bird are so different, but I think it ended up working in its own unique way.

The sentiment is one long piece of Washi tape. I like the simplicity of it.

Finally, here's a birthday card I made for someone I follow on tumblr. I knew I wanted to use one of my La-La Land Marci stamps, but I wanted her to wear glasses. I was tickled to find a pack of chip board eye glasses at Michael's that are similar to the ones she wears, score! I sprayed them with Heidi Swapp's Color Shine in black velvet to make them sparkle then attached tiny rhinestones at each corner. I popped them up with black pop dots so they wouldn't interfere with the little embellishments I added to her pony tails.

The inside sentiment is a piece of Washi tape (I love that stuff). I stamped a tiny dog in the corner that's similar to her dog.

I picked up supplies to make Easter cards. Maybe I'll have something to post for you to read about sooner rather than later (Janis).

Oz, The Great and Powerful

Dawn and I went to the movies to see Oz, The Great and Powerful. It was definitely different. I liked it, but I didn't love it. The 3-D effects were great as was the costuming. It's Oz, I say go see it!

Afterwards we sat in the photo booth and made silly spectacles of ourselves. In the first one I was trying to show off my ruby slipper necklace she bought for me a while back,but as you can see, it didn't work.

Little did I know (I'm old, I guess I miss these things), they also take a video of you during the entire sitting for everyone's entertainment outside the booth! I must admit, though, after watching it on-line when we got home I bought it cause it makes me laugh.

Need Some Encouragement?

I did and got a good dose when I read this post by Erie of Laughing Without Fear of The Future. If you're like me, you'll feel as though you received a few pats and rubs on your back, the kind from a good friend who really cares.

Photo: My mom (on your left)  with her best friend