A Criss-Crossed Love

It's Tuesday and my first official post as part of Madelynn's Twinkle Team! The sketch this week was a doozy. I did pack a small bag of stamping supplies to bring to my in-laws of some very basic and loved items. I think the Tres Chic background is very versatile and can go with just about anything. It's also a great way to add texture when stamping with the same color.

I apologize for the poor picture quality. It has been grey and c-o-l-d here since we arrived and there is no Photoshop here for editing purposes. I did use a free online service - Foto Flexer - and managed to make the photo look better than it originally did. I know that's not saying much since the lighting is still so poor. It's really pretty in real life. The base is chocolate chip stamped in chocolate chip. I used Mellow Moss ribbon for my crisscross section and some green cs that I ran through my cuttlebug and my scallop punch for the middle bit. I think it might be Old Olive? I wish you could see the heart in real life - it's SOOOO PRETTY!! I was originally going to have lots of colors on the heart and used my markers to achieve that. Once I stamped it I wasn't too happy with it so I cleaned my stamp and just inked it up with pink. The second stamping came out so cool as it is pink and brown all variegated together. I'm not sure if it's because my stamp wasn't clean enough or if some brown ink contaminated my pink marker but I love the look. I really think it's the marker and I'll buy a new pink one and keep this "ruined" one for the effect.

The original sketch has the sentiment on the left but I switched mine to the right as the word "love" was perfectly positioned. I wanted it to stand out more so I went over it with my white gel pen and added the other 2 words. By incorporating the scallops, ribbon and a sentiment with 3 words or more I can also count this card as one of the Holiday Challenges over at SCS.

Thanks so much for looking! Be sure to check out the rest of the Twinkling Team to see their take on this week's sketch! The links can all be found in my sidebar!!! I promise to take new pictures when I get home so you can see the pretty heart!! Thanks for stopping by!

Have a beautiful day!!

My Three Puppies

Well, I said I've been working on my coloring skills. I am very pleased with how this turned out. I found this stamp at the Grapevine Stamp Convention about 2 years ago. I really like the artwork of Paula Best, although it is not my typical style. However, when I saw this stamp, I HAD to get it. you see, this stamp EXACTLY depicts my three dogs.

On the left is Maddie, the prettiest mutt you'll ever see. We got her from the pound and 6 years ago and she has just the most loving personality a dog could have. We think she is a dachsund, border collie, blue heeler mix. Her ears are silky soft. Everyone that sees her says she is so pretty! If it was possible to clone a dog, I would clone Maddie. If it was feasible to have her tested and figure out the right mix, I would do so....and create a new breed that would take over the hearts of America. But she is unique and I will treasure her for always.

In the middle is Katie, our youngest puppy. She is a Pembroke Corgi - the kind without a tail. Just like the stamp, she has very little white markings on her. She is incredibly gentle and loyal. She has a big heart full of love. At the same time, she is very domineering and a big PIG!! Yes, she is huge!! She gets all the table scraps and finishes off the other dog's food. She is so fat she can't jump up onto our bed. It's so sad.

The dog on the right is Sam, our other Corgi. He must've been the runt of the litter because he is very small compared to every other Corgi that we've ever seen. He is a dog that is all lean - all muscle. He is so energetic and just craves love and attention. He is also very skittish. While he is not the alpha dog in this household and he's quite small, he thinks he is the "king" of the neighborhood.

I used sketch #7 over at Paper World for this card. I love checking out that blog and finally got a chance to play! Colored with my Prismacolor pencils. I'll be sending this card to my MIL, who loves these doggies like they are her grandkids --- probably b/c she feared for the longest time that they *would* be her grandkids.

Make it a beautiful day!!