Hello Friend

I recently picked up Mama Elephant's Tandem Ride & Tandem Extras for a 'steal' over from Simon Says Stamps, I couldn't WAIT to ink them up!

Of course I *had* color up that cute fox first! I'm playing along with the Mama Elephant Flickr group challenge for August- Watercolor!



I colored the fox and his little scene using Zig Clean Color Real Brushes, and created the background by 'ink smooshing' and splattering distress inks in coordinating colors. Added some matching sequins and a bit of twine to finish it off! Oh, and the friend sentiment is also from Mama Elephant- Origami.

Now, I can't wait to get to the rest of the cute critters on the Tandem sets, not to mention the bicycle!

Thanks for stopping by- Happy Weekend!

Wedding Succulents

Friends of ours got married last month in beautiful Zion, Utah.

With a brand new baby (& toddler) we weren't able to attend, but we still wanted to send the happy couple a card and happy wishes! From some photos I had seen of the wedding, succulents were apart of their decorations so what a better choice than to put some succulents on their card!?



 I was still in the Distress Ink water-coloring mood when I made this, and decided to try out my newest colors (Abandoned Coral & Mermaid Lagoon- LOVE THEM!). Kept the layout pretty simple with a woodgrain stamped kraft strip and added a modern look with the hexagon embossing.

I hope they've received this by now! Wishing them tons of love on their new journey together and man & wife! ♥

Birthday Cacti

Back again!

This time with a card I made using one of the images I colored during Kathy Racoosin's 30 Day Coloring Challenge!
I had an itch to do some watercoloring, and I just love using distress inks with that technique.  And since I live in the desert I thought watercolored cacti would be appropriate! ;)

I layered and masked the cactus from this Hero Arts, Stamp Your Own Cactus set, and created this little desert scene.  The orange bloom is from the Simon Says Stamp Succulents set.



I kept everything one layer except for the flower (because I forgot to add it while I was stamping & masking- oops!) Finished it off with a sentiment and sequins of course!

Thanks for swinging by!

Lawnscaping + Caffeine = Happiness!

Happy Friday!

So excited to be apart of the Lawnscaping June Blog Hop! Now sit back, grab a cup of coffee and hop along with us!



You should have found your way here from Kristina B., if not I suggest you go to the Lawnscaping blog and start from the beginning! (full hop list below)

OK, on to my card...



I decided to have some fun with some Distress inks. It's hard to see but I randomly stamped the three coffee cups along with some coffee beans on the kraft background using Antique Linen ink, it dried lighter than I had anticipated- oops! I die cut a tag (this one from Pretty Pink Posh) from watercolor paper, flicked some brown Distress inks to look like coffee stains & added a few coffee beans in there too, I water-colored the three coffee cups from the Love you a Latte, added a few pieces of coordinating patterned papers & twine and called my card complete!


Sponsors: Lawn Fawn, Ellen Hutson, The Ink Road, Crafters Companion, Spectrum Noir, The Alley Way Stamps, Newtons Nook, Faber Castell, & Right at Home

PRIZES! There are some FABULOUS sponsors for this blog hop! Comment on the blogs for your chance to win! You have until 11:59PM EST on June 28th to comment and winners will be announced on the Lawnscaping Blog later in the week.

Your next stop on the hop is Dianchik!

& just in case you get lost along the way, here is the COMPLETE list of hoppers!

Lawnscaping Challenges
Niki G
Gray Whiskers Crafts
Melissa
Kristina B.
Lysa *** You are here!***
Dianchik
Yolanda G.
Jennie M.
Julie C.
Ellen
Nina-Marie
Michele S. 
Anni
Michelle L.
Lydia
Oreet
Tammy H.
Shannon M.
Kim
Kelly S.
Trish K.
Tanja
Amy
Kim H.
Monica M.
Beau Monde Designs
Valerie W.
Maria
Wiebke
Maia Ink
Melissa B.
Vicki
Chitra
Tracy
Curl E. Cue's
Coralynn
Carisa
Dawn E.
Kate
Kristina P.

**If you encounter any errors along the hop, please email Laurel directly at laurelbeard at me dot com. Please do not leave them in the comments.**

Happy Hopping!