Just a Touch of Sparkle

 I pulled out an older Altenew stamp set for this one. When I saw older....I mean like.... from their first year. LOL! But... you GUYS! It's the Boston skyline and I rarely get that in a stamp or anything else, so this ha always been one of my favorites. I used some color blocking based on a Jennifer McGuire technique video for the design and I really like how it came out.

I stamped an embossed the image in white and then used blending brushes to apply the ink, masking off a strip for the sentiment. I pulled the sentiment from the Concord & 9th Christmas Cottage stamp set, as I have always loved Christmas time in the city and it just suited this card so well. 

And then, what did I pull out? None other than good old fashioned Stickles! I added just a touch of sparkle to the card to finish it off. It sparkles. It makes me happy. The end.

I hope you have a super terrific day!

Watercolor, oh, and sketching and stuff, too!

So, here's the deal. I have been REALLY loving watercoloring, as you have likely noted if you follow my blog regularly. My Mom mentioned that  she had liked those ones lately, too, SOOOOO.... I got this crazy idea in my head that I wanted to do a watercolor piece for her for Mother's Day.

Okay, so, I've been doing it, so no big deal, right? Welllllll.... I didn't want to just do a stamped watercolor piece. I wanted it to be all my own work. SO, I decided to go a little wild and crazy and decided to sketch out something and then watercolor it. I carefully watched a couple of videos from Sanketi who inspired me in a way that really made me feel like I could make this happen. Then I decided on a subject - Old North Church in Boston seemed like a good fit. Then, I sat down with a sheet of watercolor paper and made it happen!



I began with a pencil sketch, given that my general idea on drawing and me was that, well, I can't draw. LOL! I used another picture as a reference, but I was pretty happy that I was able to produce something that looked like real buildings and such. HA!



I then used a pen to sketch over my pencil sketch to darken it and make it more permanent. I wanted the black outline to be visible, so I used a permanent pen that wouldn't bleed while I painted.



Finally, I added the paint! I had SO much fun painting this piece! I used layers of paint to achieve depth and shadow and I know it isn't perfect, by any means, but I could NOT have been happier with how it turned out! I was so excited to share this with you guys!!!  I did frame it, however, I neglected to take a photo of it in the frame, naturally. LOL!

I hope you like it! And even more...I hope this inspires you to try something that seems like it is just more than you can do, after all, you may find out that you actually CAN do it! YAY!

OH! And for those who may need a refresher on US History, this is the church known most widely for the good old, "One if by land, Two if by See" during the Revolutionary War. Paul Revere instructed three men to two lanterns in the steeple. That steeple is now a reproduction of the original, as the original was actually destroyed by the Storm of October 1804. It was replaced at that time, only to be blown off entirely by Hurricane Carol in 1954. The steeple that stands today is a perfect reproduction.

Have a Happy!

Boston Strong with Punky Sprouts

Hello, and Happy Monday, folks!  I am excited to share that I am guesting over at Punky Sprouts today!  If you aren't familiar with Punky Sprouts, you are going to find some pretty fun stuff!  They have unique mini albums and some really fun embellishments, too!  I got the chance to play with the Rebel Sprout album.  The thing I love about Punky Sprout albums is that you can totally make them your own by putting the pages in any order and adding the rings anywhere!  It's all about YOU!


The Hubbums and I were very fortunate to have the opportunity to attend two Red Sox games at Fenway the weekend following the Boston Marathon bombings. These games were particularly significant due to the tributes and other special events taking place during them, so I decided they would be the perfect thing to create an album on! I pulled some of my favorite photos and highlighted some of the special events from those games in my album. You can check out all of the pages over on the Punky Sprouts blog!


So head on over to Punky Sprouts and check it out! I used the Basic Grey Hipster collection along with the Punky Sprouts goodness, but the entire supply list is over there, as well! I don't do albums often anymore, so this is kind of a special occasion. Just sayin'. HA! Oh...and yes... that page really does say that. WHY? Because Ortiz really said that. If you aren't familiar with the story... google it. It was freaking AWESOME! It was a great day in Red Sox history and a great day for Boston. For reals, folks. For. Reals.

Have a Happy!