Are you ready for Spring???

    I'd be willing to bet if you live in most part of the US, at this point you are very sick and tired of snow and cold and very much ready for some nice warm and sunny weather.   Two weeks ago one of my friends mentioned that she had heard a long range weather forecast and it said that for the new few weeks we were likely to have a storm every couple of days.  Of course, I really didn't pay much attention to it, but it turned out to be right on and that's exactly how our weather has been for the past two weeks.  A day of snow/rain and then a day off and right back to another stormy day again!!
 
     We had a storm yesterday, which thankfully at least turned to rain, and today it's been better, but guess what...I just read my email and it looks like we due for yet another storm tomorrow, which could give us several more inches of snow!   UGH!!   Needless to say, that makes this girl more ready for Spring than EVER!!

     When I first saw this sketch for this week's Cas(E) this Sketch Challenge, I kind of chuckled because snow is all that I seem to hear about lately.  But, it also gave me the chance to color up a few more of my favorite "snow people" digi images before I retired them for the Winter and at this point, that me be quite a bit longer.  And once I started, I had so much fun with these cuties that I actually made a couple different cards.

     My first started with this cute snowman, which is from Bugaboo Stamps.  I colored him up in red, white and blue, hoping the US continues to do well in the Olympics.   I also used my Wink of Stella Markers to add some extra sparkle and then coated that with Glossy Accents for some extra shine and dimension!!
First, I start by sharing a copy of the Sketch, which is #64.

CTS # 64

My Card

    My second card was also inspired by the same challenge and ended up being created for fun, but I think it came out really cute and since this digi image is from Pink Gem Designs.   The image was created to be a winter Robin holding some Mistletoe, but I simply changed some colors and made him into a sweet little Blue Bird, hoping that Spring was coming soon.   The sentiment is one I made up and added directly under the "image" before I printed it out!!  I will also be submitting this as my second card for the CTS Challenge!!

   And happily, I have now "fixed " my error and gone back and re-created a new card for the "Get Krafty" challenge over at the Simon Says Stamp Wednesday Challenge blog.   You may remember that I "thought" I had a card all done using "Memory Box" dies as that's what the DT was featuring, but that was NOT the correct challenge, LOL!!   That's me and my sometimes Fibro Fogged brain!!  I was very happy that I did get time to make this new card and also use some of my brand new "Retro Fresh" DSP, (love love love), from Stampin' Up...   Be sure to check out some of the newest papers, they are all gorgeous and very on trend.    If you would like to see them hop on over to my friend Carol's Stampin' UP online store HERE!   If you happen to need a Stampin' Up demo, I highly recommend Carol.  See'a great about keeping us all updated on all the awesome sales and promos and is also one of OWH Cardmakers and you can visit her blog-- HERE!! 

   Typically, and I can't really say why, I don't make a lot of cards using Kraft, but after being very happy with how this one came out and how well some of the newest SU papers match with Kraft, I think you'll be seeing quite a few more coming up.  I also love the combination of Kraft, Teal and Orange and found it worked perfectly for this card.  My die "Amana Circle", is also one from my Memory Box collection and the "What's Up" Sentiment is from the "Just Hello" stamp set from Neat and Tangled.  My Kraft cardstock is by Neenah, their very popular Desert Storm.

  And that brings me to another sweet little digital "Snow Lady" image, one that I found in my digi file, but I have to admit, I do not recall where I bought this one.  I believe it was part of a larger set, but my memory can be awful.  Either way, it makes a sweet little card and I went with a very Vibrant and Bold color scheme, after being inspired the current challenge over at CASology.

   I started with my cute little "Snow Lady" and colored her up with Copics and my Wink of Stella Markers. I also again had added this digital sentiment, at the time I was printing my images.   I use Microsoft Word for all my digi printing and love that I can also add my own sentiments, either by typing them, as I did for this card, or by inserting them as a picture file, like I do when it's a sentiment that comes in a PNG or JPEG File. This is also the same way I do any type of Digital Paper-Piecing and find it works so easily for me.   On the first snowman card at the top of this post, I actually added my snowman on top of the red and white checked digital paper and it comes out looking like I fussy cut him, yet no scissors were involved.  He printed out in black and white, all ready to be colored!   Love it!!  I've never been one who can figure out how to use Photo Shop and gave up on trying after being so frustrated with the free editions!   I would some day love to learn how to use the program, but will definitely need classes, as it's not at all user-friendly, in my very humble opinion. 

    Now I'm ready to share the last card for today, which was inspired by the new challenge over at the Fusion Card Challenge.  What I really love about this Challenge is that you have the option of using a sketch or photo inspiration, or you can "Fuse" both together and create a card that features both, which is what I did this time.   I'll start by sharing a copy of this week's inspiration sheet --

My Card

    As you can see I used my favorite colors and also combined my own take of the sketch and incorporated in the Butterfly from the photo inspiration!!   This was a super easy and fun card to create and also one I truly LOVE!!  It does remind me of Spring and thankfully we all know that Winter can't lost forever, so Spring will come and I am READY!!