Trudy's Tea Party Card

If I had a daughter, she would have dolls, tea parties and love pink and purple, just like me! Of course I have two wonderful boys! I also know that some little girls love other colors and don't care much for tea parties or dolls. I could live with that, if she were a happy healthy child. Whatever she would want we would do our best for her, just as we did for our sons.

Here's a very girly girl birthday card. The little blond girl is Barefoot Trudy with 3 dresses from Mo's Digital Pencil and are Troy's Balloons. The tea table and two chairs are also digital stamps from Digi Drawn.

I used Prismacolor pencils and odorless mineral spirits and the wall and floor coverings are scraps from my card stock collection.

This card is entered into the challenge at Mo's Digital Pencil.

A Super Hero Card for a Little Girl

I love the challenge of making cards for my friends to fit their ideas. This card was inspired by a friend's young granddaughter, who loves super heroes.

I found just the most perfect Super girl (Superdoper Girl) digital stamp at Mo's Digital Pencil. I used Prismacolor pencils and odorless mineral spirits to color in and blend this adorable character, on card stock. The chest of drawers and the stuffed animal are digital stamps by Maureen Kuppe of Digidrawn, printed on 90 lb. watercolor paper and rendered in Marvy Markers watercolor. The toys are digitals from stitchybear.com, which I colored in with my Prismacolor pencils on card stock. These I placed on pop dots for dimension.

The wall paper and flooring in paper from my scrapbook collection. I love the look of a super hero bedroom...don't you?

After I made this card, I got the Superduper Boy for another card!

I can't wait to hear about the card from my friend and her grandchild!
Update: My customer loved the card!

This card is entered into this week's challenge at Mo's Digital Pencil.

Discovering Digi Stamps Part 3

Building a card composition is fun when you can combine digital stamps with your favorite rubber stamps. My current favorite stamps are Tilda and Edwin (Magnolia Stamps). When I started searching for scenic digitals to work with these kids, I came across Digidrawn by Maureen Kuppe. She offers digitals designed to work with two sizes of Magnolia Stamps. I love working with  several of the bedroom furniture pieces. I print these on 90 lb. watercolor paper and rendered these in Marvy Marker watercolor.

The dotted lamp is a Hero Arts stamp, I found on clearance at Michaels.

The toys are digitals from stitchybear.com, which I used my Prismacolor pencils on the card stock.

I used those pencils and odorless mineral oil on the stamps of Tilda and Edwin, which were printed on card stock.

The train and dump truck are Little Toot clear stamps from Kaisecraft and colored in Marvy Markers. The dog stickers are by Jolee.

The wall paper and flooring in each room is from my scrapbook paper collection.

I used pop dotts to give Tilda a bit of dimension as she sits on the pillow playing with her puppy!

Come back and again and I will show you the kids sharing a pot of tea in the diningroom!

A Favorite Gift to Give

Each year I like to decorate a store bought clothing item as gifts fr my grandson and nephew. This year it took forever to find two denim jackets for two beautiful little boys. It was almost Christmas before they were completed. My three year old nephew in California opened his gift on New Year's Eve. He loved his jacket with the machine embroidered Mickey Mouse on the back, so much, that he wouldn't take it off the next day!

Before my four year old grandson was born, I designed an applique for the back of a denim jacket. Finally he is wearing a size big enough to apply the design to the back of a jacket. He got his in time for Christmas.

A bit cranky and tired after a trip to the zoo.

It just fits the width of the back!

Can someone tell me why it was so hard to find 2 denim jackets for boys in Florida?

Estate Sale Bargains

Back when I lived in New York State, my friend and I explored garage sales, looking for bargains on the weekends. After moving to Florida I check out a few garage sales, but never really got into it.

My husband and I recently discovered the fun of estate sales. We’ve gotten some lovely items to use in our home and also some wonderful pieces to use as gifts.

When people have too much stuff, and want to get rid of old possessions to make room for the new, they hold a garage sale. But some times it is necessary to get rid of a whole house full of items all at once. Usually it’s when a family member dies. The process is overwhelming, so professionals are hired who help organize an estate sale.

Estate sales can also be necessary because of long-distance moves, divorce and bankruptcy. These sales can be a good way to pay off debt or make money off unwanted possessions. Shoppers often find bargains, antiques and unusual items.

Estate sales are different from garage sales, because they're usually run by a professional company, and the goal is to sell all the items remaining in the home. In most estate sales, the public is invited into the house and can browse through the entire house. Many times the house is up for sale too. Prices are displayed on the items, but it's acceptable to bargain for lower prices.

Well, one Saturday, we walked into a house that had a number of miniature carousels. I have a small collection of carousels and did a college thesis for my Master Degree on the art of the carousel. You could say, I have a soft spot for them.

I hadn’t thought of expanding my collection, but the prices and quality was too good to pass up, on three of these. I had a problem with one the three which was 14” across, large and expensive. I went home with the other two small ones and to think about the large one.  I did get a good price, but had trouble deciding. When I did get home I called one of the sales staff at the house. She didn’t answer, so I left a message. Not hearing back from her, I assumed the carousel was sold.

The two carousels I bought that day. 

I didn't realize it at the time but not only does this carousel go around and play music, but it goes up and down too. None of my others go up and down.

When I bought the girl (right) on the carousel that day, I knew I had one home similar to it, with a boy (left). They are not the same year, but were manufactured by the same company.

The following weekend I walked into another house to check out the estate sale…there was that same staff person! She had not received the message on her phone until the following weekend and had not sold the carousel. There it was, she had moved it to the current sale! My hubby bought it for me for Xmas at a good price and put it on its’ own table in our living room. All week long I had told myself, I didn’t want it anyway!

Here's a fun find...My husband Sandy's real name is Anthony and while looking over some small collector buildings I spotted one with Anthony's Cafe printed on it in two places. Of course we had to have it and hang it in our kitchen.

Here are a few more of our finds:

We look forward to the new year going on the hunt!

Discovering Digi Stamps Part 2

I so enjoy the way digital stamps work along with my rubber stamps. The backgrounds of my scenes with Tilda and Edwin (Magnolia stamps) are enhanced with the use of these wonderful digital drawings. They fit right into my general theme of plants and kids.

I can adjust the digi stamps to the size I need to fit each of my rubber Magnolia stamps. You can't adjust the rubber stamps, so it adds another element to my creative hobby. I've adjusted the size of the potting bench used with each of my Magnolia stamps.

Tilda and Edwin are colored with Prisma colored pencils and odorless mineral spirits. The potting bench is done in Marvy Markers and a water brush. The bench was printed on Canson 90 pound water color paper. The children were stamped on card stock. Each of the children is on pop dots.

The following is an example of Edwin sitting on the bench showing how I can use the sizes to fit the rubber stamps.

These cards used digi stamps called the "Potting Bench" by Mo's Digital Pencil. I have entered the card with Tilda in the challenge at Mo's digital Pencil.

Discovering Digi Stamps

For as long as I have done watercolors, scenic compositions always gave me great pleasure to paint. Lately I have begun to use my rubber stamps to design scenes featuring my Tilda and Edwin stamps by the Magnolia Rubber Stamp Company. Floral and farm scenes look especially nice with those kids. I use my Marvy Markers (water based), water brush and plastic palette. The markers are used not only to color the images, but to print the grass too. Edwin is colored in Prisma Colored pencils and I used Oderless Mineral Spirits to blend the colors. He is on pop dots adding dimension to the picture.

I recently discovered digital stamps! I love the scenes that I can buy online and have them sent to my computer. I have a digi file and can open them and adjust them in my Word program. I use Canson 90 lb. cold press watercolor paper to print the designs on my printer. From there the fun starts, coloring and adding more to an already delightful composition. I have always enjoyed coloring and painting more than drawing, so this is a great find for me! Maybe you will think so too!

The card I am displaying used a digi stamp called "Potting Shed" designed by Mo's Digital Pencil. I love how Edwin (Cool Edwin), looks standing way into the foreground. He looks like, he just visited with the gardener at a wonderful colorful shed. I liked Mo's original colors so much, I copied them in my own version.

I have entered this card in the challenge at Mo's digital Pencil.
Come back again and see my other digital stamping discoveries!

To find more wonderful digital stamps go to: http://mosdigitalpencil.com/