Sunflower Studio

MERCI {sfytt}

Merry Christmas, everyone!  Hopefully you all had a wonderful holiday filled with family, friends, food, and treats galore.  We certainly did!  I think I have a sugar coma from the multitude of cookies...yeesh!

I've been slow on the uptake today {again...due to the food coma!} and I'm just getting my SKETCH FOR YOU TO TRY card posted this evening.  This is a special week and you'll definitely want to play along.  JEN'S got a really great giveaway for the challenge participants...a chance to win a ONE YEAR MEMBERSHIP TO THE SCS FAN CLUB!! All you have to do is participate in this week’s sketch and post your creation to the Mr. Linky on JEN'S BLOG.

My card this time has only a touch of stamping.  The large cursive "merci" is from Paper Source.  Isn't that a great font?!  I love it.  The small cursive stamp is from Papertrey.  I'm still working on trying to incorporate them into my routine.  {I keep buying those sets but not using them and that's NOT good!}  I flipped the sketch so that the embellishments would be on the left of the card too. The patterned papers are from Making Memories.  Hey, did you know that the Spellbinder's Nestabilities dies can cut felt?  Again...slow on the uptake here!  I'm sure I'm the last to figure it out but it's really cool.  I created another of those layered paper flowers that I was making a few weeks ago.  This time I "roughed up" and split a piece of SU! carstock.  Then I used that same PTI stamp with their cream ink to stamp on the "felted" side of the paper.  A few PTI buttons, embroidery floss and some tiny Kaiser Craft pearls finish it off.

Don't forget to check in with the other SFYTT girls...the links are below:

Amy R.
Amy S.
Kelly

and Jen del Muro with this month's special guest.  {Susan is skipping this week - she's off playing in Disney...lucky duck!}

Also, the SFYTT gang will be taking the month of January off.  Both Jen and Kelly will be welcoming brand new baby boys.  How exciting, right!  Best of wishes to them both and to YOU for a Happy New Year!

HOLIDAY WISHES!

  We're taking a week off from TCP Tuesday but I wanted to make sure and wish everyone a very MERRY CHRISTMAS and a HAPPY NEW YEAR to follow.  Thanks to all who have visited the Sunflower Studio blog this year.  I love hearing from you.  Enjoy the holidays!

DOVE ORNAMENTS

On top of the crazy snow, our neighborhood was having our 2nd annual HOLIDAY PROGRESSIVE PARTY tonight.  Now, instead of "progressing" we'll just be gathering in one house...OURS!  {I'm off to work on the cleaning next!}  I made some ornaments last year for the guests and now it's a thing.  This is my version for 2009.  I made the dove's out of wool felt according to a pattern that I found HERE.  I dressed them up a bit differently.  I added a tag too...I scanned some sheet music for Joy To The World into the computer and then made it smaller and printed it out multiple times onto Kraft cardstock.  I then cut them into tags and "antiqued" them with the Copic airbrush.  Hope they like 'em!

TRIXIE'S FIRST SNOW

I thought I'd share a few pix of the little doggie in her first snow.  She loves it...OBVIOUSLY!  She doesn't mind at all.  This was early this morning so there's only a few inches.  We're expecting over a foot...for the East Coast, that's a lot!

SNOWMAN LOVE {sfytt}

FINALLY!  It's already been a trying, heck of a day and it's not even one o'clock yet!  Anyway, to the good stuff...it's Saturday, yup, Saturday already, and that mean's its time for another of JEN's SKETCHES FOR YOU TO TRY!  Yea!  I really did intend to have this up on time today - and I've been working on it for over four hours - but other stuff kept interrupting.  Did I mention that we're having a bit of snow here?

I chose the MERRY KISSMAS set from MY FAVORITE THINGS for this week's sketch.  You all know that I love these little PURE INNOCENCE images but just take a look at this little snowman.  He's adorable!  I used Cosmo Cricket JOLLY BY GOLLY patterned papers and a gaggle of other "this and that" for embellishment.  I think when you get interrupted so many times it causes your mind to wander and you end up with A LOT of embellishment...that's my excuse and I'm stickin' to it!

Everybody's busy, busy getting their Christmas together, traveling, and dealing with snow today but do check in with the other SFYTT girls to see what they've come up with...

Amy Rohl
Amy Sheffer
Kelly Lunceford
Susan Liles

and Jen del Muro with this month's special guest.

MERRY CHRISTMAS EVERYONE! 

WHIPPER SNAPPER WEDNESDAY

I'm sharing a few more WHIPPER SNAPPER DESIGNS cards today.  These images are all available NOW as a part of the Winter 2010 new release.

The above images is called FARMTOWN MELODY.  I love the expression on each animal's face.  The little ruffley ribbon treatment is something that I found on Debbie Olson's blog...cute, huh?

This fishing chicken image - by Anna Wight - is called NOT EXACTLY MONDAY.  It just cracks me up...a fishing chicken!  Hee hee!

And lastly...what's Valentine's without a chicken with a big ole heart shaped box 'o' chocolates?  This is another of Anna's images.  It's called JUST A FLIRT.  I think that he's thinking "I bought you this candy but I eated it."  Ha ha ha

WELL...I TRIED

I tried to get the little doggie to wear her Santa hat yesterday.  Uh...yea...that was gonna happen...NOT!  So here she is...

I didn't realized that I took 82 pictures of her until I went to upload them this morning.  And out of those 82, I may have gotten two that are "okay".  She's so wiggly and fast that it's hard to capture her.  And this is all in between her eating the Christmas tree, chasing the cat, eating, peeing, and pooping! I'll include a little collage of her being a rotten doggie and then a calmer shot.  Looks like she needs a haircut already...she's got hair in her eye!

I did take a photo of just the hat...maybe I can cut and paste in Photoshop so that it looks like she's wearing it...we'll see.

 

AHHHHHHHHH....WHAT-IS-THIS?!!!!

This critter was on the patio wall this morning.  This is the same wall where I usually sit while I watch the doggie do her "business" each day....many times a day!  Do you think it's poisonous?  I mean, those capstones are about three inches deep and that thing is at least half that!  IT'S GIGANTIC...GINORMOUS... HUMONGOUS....AHHHHHHHHHH!  RUN FOR YOUR LIVES!  I mean, really, I think it might be a form of tarantula!

TCP TUESDAY - Sketch Challenge

Time for a new TCP Tuesday sketch!  I'm taking a little breather so JEN DEL MURO will be hosting the sketch challenge this month.  She's always good for something new and unusual - as you can see below! {Make sure that you go and check out her sketch card on her blog....CA-UTE!}  I'm not sure if I'll get a chance to play along this week but I wanted to post the sketch so that YOU can.  Grab your CAT'S PAJAMAS stamps and make something festive.  Don't forget to post your card to the GUESTBOOK ON ALMA'S BLOG to be entered into the Swanky Stamper contest for this month.

And, while I'm on the subject of TCP...I thought I'd post another of my holiday creations.  This was one of my new release samples that I sent on to Alma.  I used Mr. Bear from the GIVE A LITTLE set along with the Spellbinders Christmas Tree die and a bunch of dee-lish papers from Cosmo Cricket.  The trees and the bear are the front part of the card and open out.  The striped background would be considered the "inside" of the card....does that make sense?  Anyway, I love Mr. Bear...he's such a cutie!

THANK YOU BIRDIE {sfytt}

Happy Saturday!  I hope you're enjoying a sunny day and that the malls and traffic aren't too much of a hassle. If you're like me, you're still working on that Christmas shopping.  It's crazy out there!

Of course, it's time for a new SKETCH FOR YOU TO TRY.  This one has lots of potential and is a great way to showcase a central image as well as lots of patterned papers.  I chose to use a WHIPPER SNAPPER DESIGNS image called CONWAY TWEETIE.  I have issues when I'm coloring birdies.  I feel like they should be actual birdie colors.  Not sure why this is because I have no problems coloring other things weird colors.  So today the birdie is a robin.  The patterned papers are all from Basic Grey in the Lemonade paper pad. 

I've been dying to try one of those distressed, layered paper flowers so he's my try.  I squished up some cardstock over and over and ran it over the edge of my table to weaken the fibers enough to split the layers - meaning peel them apart.  That way you have a "felt-like" texture to the paper.  Then I used various sized circle punches for the flower and the SU! small oval punch for the leaves.  I squished them up some more and then unfolded them and added some PTI vintage ink to "antique" the flower as well.

The sentiment is from A Muse Artstamps - I love all of their little sentiment stamps!  I anchored the sentiment flag with some PTI buttons and button twine.

Be sure to check in with the other SFYTT girls this morning to see what they created with the sketch.  Links directly to their blogs are below.  I'm off to do the same and then back to the Christmas shopping.  Enjoy your day!

Amy Rohl
Amy Sheffer
Kelly Lunceford
Susan Liles

and Jen del Muro with her special guest, Kim Moreno.

Oh, by the way, the birthday card that I posted last night also used Jen's SFYTT for this week!