Art By MiRan First Design Team Post

Hello Friends,

I am sorry I have been away for a while. A lot has been going on here. I went on vacation to the Kit & Clowder Live Retreat in Orlando Florida and I've also been in Columbia SC. all week crafting with my Stampin' Up! friend Becky Bakely! 

I am excited to announce that I have been chosen by Art By Miran to be a part of their amazing design team. I am canceling my "Focal Friday Blog Series" due to this. Our Challenges will be on the first and third Friday's of every month.

Today my project is using this months Progressive Challenge Digital image. Make sure to check out our Facebook Group for more details on participating in this challenge. The image is discounted and if you participate you will get next months image for FREE!!!! So lets see a lot of people entering.

I used Little Darlings "Darling Square Die Set" which is an exclusive set of dies designed by a dear friend of mine, Tammy over at Handmadebytlc This die set is currently ON SALE if your interested in picking it up.

Here is a close up of the image and coloring. This was such a fun image to color.  Thank you for stopping by this week. I'll be back in 2 weeks for another Art By Miran Challenge Post. Make sure to "Follow" My blog or sign up for my email posts so you don't miss out. Happy crafting everyone!

Focal Friday ~ Art By Miran Design Team Call

Hi Friends,

I am super excited for today's Focal Friday post. I had some fun with my nails this week and decided to use the colors for this weeks inspiration.

If you would like more information on this nail technique feel free to contact me using the left sidebar.

Now to my project. I am excited to try out for The Art By Miran Design Team. I once served on the Treasured Times Design Team and we were blessed to get to use Art by MiRan Stamps. I have always loved these images/stamps and getting to promote their designs once again would be exciting!

My color scheme from the card has come from my wild and crazy nails. It was a challenge, which is why I love to design using inspiration, but I really like the way it turned out. Usually I would add a lot more embellishments to a card but I really wanted the focal to be this adorable image and the beautiful scene I have created.

Here is a simple tutorial to show you how I created the cloud background. I used two Stampin' Up! punches along with some chalks. As you can see I just simply cut the bottoms of the punches off and taped them together to form my own little mask. Then I worked with two different chalks until I got the effect I was after.

Here is a close up of my colored darling. I have used the following Copic Markers:

E000, E00, E04, E11, E21

C3, C5, C7, C9

YG13, YG17, YG67, YG97

BG01, B05, B26

V05, V09

R35, R43, R83, R85

Y08, Y35, YR14

Please visit The Art By MiRan Design Team Call and check out all the amazing talent.

 Click HERE to purchase MiRan Digital Images.

Thank you for stopping by today! Have a great weekend!

Melanie

Kit And Clowder Create and Learn Classes

Hi Friends,

A lot of you may already know this but I participate in the online coloring community called Kit and Clowder. I cannot express how much I have learned from these classes. In April I signed up for their online monthly project subscription and I am so happy I did. I have created an amazing piece of art that I would like to share with you.

 

Alyce Keegan's way of teaching is perfect for any skill level. I don't believe I could ever of mastered this piece without her amazing guidence. I am a member of 8 of her online classes as well as the Monthly Create and Learn project class. 

To check out all of Kit and Clowder classes simply click HERE!

For this piece we have used an amazing image by Polkadoodles Series called  Octavia Moonfly.

Saturated Canary "My Room" With Frantage Background.

Hello friends,

Today I have a really fun card to share with you. I wanted to be bright and bold with this one because when my daughter was a teenager she loved all things PINK and loved wild and crazy prints on her clothes as well as her personal belongings.

I have used this AMAZING Little Darlings die series called "Darling Square Die Set" I have to say that this is now my all time favorite set of dies. Everything you need is included...The card base shape, The inner scallop square, the sentiment die, the floral spray die, and two different size flower dies which I have used together to form the flowers on the left hand side.

 

Here is a close up of the floral dies... I am in LOVE!

 

The stamp I have used is called "My Room" also by "Little Darlings Rubber Stamps" I have colored her with Copic markers in the following colors:

E11, E21, E15, E27, E77

BV0000, BV000

BG13, BG18

YR65, YR68

R22, R81, R82, R85

Thank you for stopping by today.... Click on my left side bar to contact me, follow me, or sign up for my email updates.

Focal Friday ~ Clearwater Marine Aquarium

Hi Friends,

Hubby and I are back from our vacation to Florida. We celebrated our 22nd Wedding Anniversary while away and our main event while there was visiting the Clearwater Marine Aquarium in Clearwater Florida. This is the home of the dolphins "Winter and Hope" from the movies Dolphin Tale 1 and 2. It was a very memorable visit and I would suggest it to all animal lovers.

For this week's Friday Focal I am using the amazing photos from that day as my focus for my card.

The very week we were in Clearwater, the Kit and Clowder Coloring Community I am involved with was hosting a fundrasier for the aquarium. I was able to pick up some limited editon digital images and all proceeds are going directly to the on going efforts of the "Rescue, Rehab, Release" program. Below is the image donated by Tiddly Inks Stamp Company and I really had a fun creating a ocean scene with it.

Here is a close up of the coloring of the image. The Copic Markers used are listed below.

Copic Colors: 

B01, B04, BG000, BG01. BG04, BG11, BG13, BG49, BG72

E000, E00, E11, E21, E31,E33,E35

C1, C3

If you would like to support our fundraising efforts head on over to get your Craft for Clearwater digi stamps! You can grab them over at www.youcaring.com/clearwater 

Thank you for stopping by this week. I will be back with a new project on Monday. Have a wonderful weekend!

Focal Fridays ~ The Paper Nest Dolls, Little Birdie Ellie

Hi Crafty Friends,

Today I have a really sweet card. While out house hunting with my mother we have ran across some beautiful flowers. I have snapped photos with my phone every chance I have gotten. I have always loved the purple and yellow combo but when adding the green it really has given it a fresh look. 

I am using the adorable Paper Nest Doll's stamp called "Little Birdie Ellie Isn't she just precious?

 

I adore using Wild Orchid Craft Flowers and they worked perfectly for this theme. I had a lot of fun with the birdie. My mother was with me in my craft room while coloring and she suggested to color her like a Robin so here is my attempt with it. How did I do?

I have used some fun dies with this card as well as Copic Markers.

Here is a close up of my coloring.

I even finished the inside to match.

Thank you for stopping by today. I'd love for you to join my Facebook Page to share your projects using this week's Focal Friday.

Focal Fridays ~ 3 Fun Hexagon Punch Tricks Plus a Surprise!

Hi Friday Followers,

SURPRISE..... Meet My Kitty!!!!

Today I have a special treat I am sharing with all of you. This is Mr. Tuxedo, Or "Tux" for short. He showed up in my cul-de-sac last fall and my dear husband gave him a can of tuna.... Yep you guessed it....He adopted us. With the cold of winter heading our way we decided to give him a forever home. Here he is in all his glory!

As you can see Tux helps me all over the house. In The top left photo he was ready for his dinner meal. His vet put him on a diet when we took him in to be treated for his ear hematoma.  So now each morning and evening he stands next to his serving cup on the counter of our bathroom and speaks to us until we put his serving in the bowl. He has such a personality! In the top right and bottom left photos he was helping me process my AVON order. Finally in the bottom right photo he is perched high in my craft room observing my creative side. 

Here is today's card using Tux as my inspiration. I want to thank Becky Bakely for sharing her Stampin' Up! Back to Black Designer Paper with me. It is a wonderful pack and includes 12 different B&W patterns. I wanted to show off as many of them as I could so I used the Hexagon Hives Thinlit Die along with the Hexagon Embossing Folder and Hexagon Punch to create this card. Check the photos below for some neat techniques for using YOUR Hexagon Punch from Stampin' Up! or Order it by clicking HERE!

Use the punch to make a banner

 

 Or Arrows

  Or even a sweet banner for your sentiment

I love punches because they are so versatile. I am always looking for new fun ways of using them. Check out the world of punches on my website by clicking HERE! 

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