Birthday Bash Hop

Just wanted to give everyone a heads up about a fun event that will be going on later this week.  I hope you will come by and party with us at Jo's Scrap Shack.

Happy Penguin

Well, here it is May already and that means it's time for another challenge from Crafty Hazelnut's Christmas Challenge Extra!  As always, it is anything goes as long as it is Christmas related and it goes through the whole month.  If you've been playing along with us, you will already have a good start on your Christmas card stash.  If not, it's definitely not too late to get started.  Here is my card for some inspiration:

Supplies:
Stamps: Bugaboo Stamps "Little Winter-Penguin" (I can't find it on their new website, so it might be retired); Verve "Peace On Earth" sentiment
Cuttlebug snowflake embossing folder

Challenges:
Craft Dee BowZ--anything goes with a handmade bow
Christmas At Sweet Stampin'--anything goes
ABC Christmas--H is for Home, I is for informal (my penguin is dressed informally)
Little Miss Muffet #161--anything goes
If You Give a Crafter a Cookie #67--inspiration photo (I was inspired by the penguins)

Aud Sentiments #178--use a stamp for your sentiment
Crimbo Crackers #131--kraft card (I used kraft for the tags)
Sweet Stampers--animals
Dis Digis--use something digital
Tuesday Throwdown #340--embossing
Crafting By Designs--have yourself a merry little Christmas
Fab n' Funky #348--Christmas
Penny's Challenge #326--anything goes
Crafty Gals #120--anything goes
Simon Says Stamp Wednesday--anything goes
Crafty Creations #340--anything goes
Fussy & Fancy #186--anything goes
Creative Fingers #129--anything goes
Hiding In My Craft Room #229--freestyle
A Gem of a Challenge #192--embossing wet or dry

It's your day . . .

Happy Friday!!  It's time for another challenge from Jo's Scrap Shack.  As always, we are now an Anything Goes challenge.  

Our sponsor this week is the fabulous Bugaboo Stamps:

I chose to use this fun image:

I picked it because it could be used for so many different occasions when you need a masculine card.  Think birthday, Father's Day, thinking of you, or even an encouragement card.  I think I might end up getting a lot of use out of this one.  I paired it with some screw head brads that I picked up last fall.  My husband and his grandfather are both carpenters so I knew the brads would come in handy.  But really, they add a great masculine touch to any project.  Then, I used a sentiment from Raisin Boat that seemed to fit the image.  Right now, I'm in an altering your sentiment stamp phase, either by masking or in this case curving.  I love clear stamps for this because it's really easy to attach them to your clear stamping block and then arc them to match the curve you are stamping them by.  I'm also in a "out of the box" die cutting technique mood lately, too.  It adds a bit of fun and interest and is a great technique when your largest dies aren't quite large enough to cut out your entire image (which is what happened here!); so fun!

I hope you will get a chance to play along with us this week.  I love being inspired by what you create!

What do you need to do to enter?

Challenge Rules

1. Please post a direct link to your blog post that includes your challenge entry project, using the linky tool on Jo's blog. 

2. Be sure to include a link back to Jo's Scrap Shack and to the challenge post you are entering your project into

3. THREE entries per person are allowed for each challenge and you must post a separate blog post for each entry.

4. For all entries -NO BACK LINKS ACCEPTED- 

The date on your blog post should be dated between the start date the end date for the challenge you are entering, in order to be eligible for the challenge & prizes

5. You may link up to other challenges but be sure to link back to Jo's Scrap Shack and to the challenge post you are entering 

 * All entries that do not meet the challenge requirements

WILL NOT be eligible for the top 3, any sponsor wins or any random wins by Jo

All random wins will only be mailed within the US and Canada only.

You have until May 4th by 6:00PM (eastern, USA) time to link up.

All winners will be announced during the week of May 7th.

Have fun and we look forward to seeing what you create!

Supplies:
Stamps: Bugaboo Stamps "Relax Guy" digi; Raisin Boat "It's a Guy Thing" sentiments
Dies: Spellbinders "Classic Circles, large"; MFT "Blueprints 13" sentiment banner

Challenges:
Sugar Pea Designs #30--sketch


Crafty Hazelnut's Patterned Paper--anything goes with patterned paper
CropStop--anything goes
Aurora Wings #48--anything goes
Little Miss Muffet #161--anything goes
Southern Girls #158--boys
Aud Sentiments #178--use a stamp for your sentiment
Di's Digi Designs--use something digital
Come And Get It--circles
Kraftin' Kimmie Stamps Wonderful Wednesday--anything goes

So Glad

Happy Wednesday!  It's time for another challenge from The House That Stamps Built and this week it is Anything Goes!  Oh, yeah, we know how much everyone loves those challenges!!  And here is the card I created for the challenge:

 I just love how these colors work together!  They're so bright and pretty.  And you all know how much I love these Flower Power separates images!  I stamped the background first with the solid images and then added details with coordinating Spectrum Noir markers.  I created a fun shaker card that looks all the way through to the stamped panel.  I used sequins and punched butterflies for a little bit of fun.

 Here's the inside:

Won't this make a super fun Mother's Day card?  I hope you will get a chance to play along with us.

Supplies:
Stamps: Repeat Impressions "Flower Cluster Solid" (in gray), "Daisy solid, large" (in yellow), "Daisy Solid, small" (in orange), "Leaf solid, small" (in green) and "Mom's like you" inside sentiment
Dies: MFT "Blueprints 13" stitched rectangle; Spellbinders "Fleur Di Lis Squares"; Martha Stewart butterfly punch
Card Stock: PTI "Grout Gray" and "Lemon Tart"; SU! "Pumpkin"
Inks: PTI "Lemon Tart", New Leaf", and "Orange Zest" and MFT light gray

Challenges:
Unicorn Challenge #20--Petal Power
Card Mania #91--April Showers bring May Flowers
A Bit More Time To Craft #42--anything goes
Creative Fingers #128--anything goes
Cards Galore--anything goes
The Paper Nest Dolls #4--anything goes
Creative Sketchy #11--butterflies and/or flowers
Love To Craft Challenge Blog--anything goes
Altnew's Celebrating Parents card drive--mother's or father's days (for seniors in nursing homes) #AltnewCardDrive
Stamplorations--theme and sketch: stamps wings

Stamplorations--Things with wings blog hop and linky party

YNS #62--color challenge

Creative Inspiration #273--for the gilrs
Aud Sentiments #178--use a stamp for your sentiment
Brown Sugar Challenge #247--use a die cut

Smile

Happy Wednesday!  I hope you have been enjoying nice, warm, sunny spring days like we have been lately!  It's so nice to finally have spring arrive.  Also arriving is a new challenge from The House That Stamps Built.  This week we have a beautiful photo inspiration challenge:

Don't you just love those colors?!  I love the texture, too, and if I had any texture paste I would have created something that incorporated the texture.  But, I don't, so this is what I came up with:

I started by heat embossing the background stamp with white powder and sponging on the colors.  I also heat embossed two mums with white embossing powder, sponged on some aqua and amethyst and then added some shading with coordinating spectrum noir markers.   I used a lime green marker to color some white card stock to make it the right shade for die cutting my leaf sprigs.  I wasn't going to add any of the lime color, but I'm so glad I did; it really pops with the other colors.  I hope you will get a chance to play along with us this week.  This challenge is a bit more "challenging" but I'm sure you can create something fabulous!  Hop on over to The House blog to see the full details and see what the rest of the DT created.  And if you "need" any of the stamps I used (or any from Repeat Impressions), check out my 10% off your ENTIRE order code over there in my left sidebar.

Supplies:
Stamps: Repeat Impressions "Flower Power Background", "Mum Outline" and "smile" from the "You Cling Set"
Dies: Verve "Sprightly Sprigs"; Darice Damask embossing folder
Card Stock: PTI "Aqua Mist" and "Ocean Tides:
Inks: PTI "Aqua Mist" and "Ocean Tides"; SU! "Almost Amethyst" and "Brocade Blue"
PTI "Aqua Mist" dotted satin ribbon

Challenges:
Mojo Monday #493--sketch

Come And Get It--It's a girl thing
A Gem of a Challenge #192--ribbon and/or lace
Creative Fingers #128--anything goes
A Bit More Time To Craft #42--anything goes
Inspiration Destination--anything goes
Cut It Up #119--CASE it! (Julee Tillman is probably my favorite designer, so I decided to CASE one of her cards, specially since I used her sketch)

Card Mania #91--April showers bring May flowers
Unicorn Challenge #20--petal power

Blue Christmas

Here it is the middle of April, so I'm here with my mid-month inspiration for Crafty Hazelnut's Christmas Challenge Extra.  You have a couple weeks left to play along with us this month, and a chance to get a head start on your Christmas card stash.  Here is my inspiration for you:

I just love this little snowman!  I often reach for him when I need something cute, and he's perfect for paper piecing which makes him even cuter!!  The matting behind the image panel is actually a dark brown to match the brown gingerbread men.  I added some snowflakes at the top of the main panel to make it look even more wintery.  I hope you will get a chance to play along with us this month; it is never too early to get started on those Christmas cards!!

Supplies:
Stamps: YNS "Holiday Snow Globe"; Verve "Peace On Earth" sentiment

Challenges:
Crafty Creations #339--anything goes
Penny's Challenge #324--anything goes
MFT #328--sketch

Christmas Card Challenge #10--inspiration photo (I was inspired by the gingerbread, I just used men instead of a house)

ABC Christmas--His for Home and I is for informal (my snowman is informally dressed)
The Holly & The Ivy--anything goes
The Paper Nest Dolls #4--anything goes
Christmas At Sweet Stampin'--anything goes

Seriously

Happy Friday!!  It's time for another challenge from Jo's Scrap Shack.  As always, we are now an Anything Goes challenge and our sponsors for this week is Little Blue Button Stamps. 

I used this gorgeous image:

I used the chalk board technique for the sentiment panel.  I heat embossed the sentiment with white embossing powder, used a white colored pencil to add the doodles around the corners, and then used some white ink to sponge around the edges to give that chalk look.  I just LOVE how this card turned out; the image is so beautiful and the black really makes everything pop!  

What do you need to do to enter?

Challenge Rules

1. Please post a direct link to your blog post that includes your challenge entry project, using the linky tool on Jo's blog. 

2. Be sure to include a link back to Jo's Scrap Shack and to the challenge post you are entering your project into

3. THREE entries per person are allowed for each challenge and you must post a separate blog post for each entry.

4. For all entries -NO BACK LINKS ACCEPTED- 

The date on your blog post should be dated between the start date & the end date for the challenge you are entering, in order to be eligible for the challenge & prizes

5. You may link up to other challenges but be sure to link back to Jo's Scrap Shack and to the challenge post you are entering 

 * All entries that do not meet the challenge requirements

WILL NOT be eligible for the top 3, any sponsor wins or any random wins by Jo

All random wins will only be mailed within the US and Canada only.

You have until April 20th by 6:00PM (eastern, USA) time to link up.

All winners will be announced during the week of April 23rd.

Have fun and we look forward to seeing what you create.

Supplies:
Stamps: Little Blue Button Stamps "Magnolia" digi; CAS-ual Fridays "Mon Ami"
Dies: Verve "Pennant Trim" die

Challenges:
In the Pink #117--pearls
Mod Squad Challenge Blog--chalkboard technique
Sweet Sketch Wednesday 2 #110--sketch

Word Art Wednesday #279--anything goes with uplifting sentiment
Addicted To Stamps #237--make your mark (I used spectrum noir markers, craft ink and embossing powder)
Crafting by Designs--girls or flowers
Come And Get It--In the garden
Incy Wincy--recipe: 1 image, 2 patterned papers, 3 embellishments (I have 3 groups of 3 pearls)
Card Mania #91--April showers bring May flowers
Unicorn Challenge #20--Petal Power

Birthday Wishes

Today, I get to be a guest designer for Stick It Down Challenges!  Yippiee!!  So excited to be asked by them to play along this month.

 And here is the fabulous sketch we are working with this month:

I created the background with strips of scrap papers.  It's one of my favorite things to do when I come down to the end of a paper pack.  Luckily, I had enough of the polka dotted paper left to die cut a butterfly.  And the fancy oval half was already in my bits and pieces stash.  So, this card is made completely out of scraps!  LOVE it!!  Some rhinestones and a few sparkly sequins finish  it off.

I hope you will head on over to the Stick It Down blog and maybe even get a chance to play along.  The sketch is super fun!

Supplies:
Stamps: Verve "Surely Goodness"
Dies: MFT "Blueprints 13" stitched rectangle; PTI butterfly; Spellbinders "Floral Ovals"

Challenges:
Crafty Creations #339--anything goes
Penny's Challenge #324--anything goes
Creative Craft Cottage #85--dies/punches
Shopping Our Stash #298--use punches or dies
Hiding In My Craft Room #296--super scraps
Aud Sentiments #177--birthday or #7
Love To Craft Challenge Blog #9--anything goes
Divas that Cut--birthdays
Crafting with an Attitude--anything goes
Crafty Hazelnut's Patterned Paper--anything goes with patterned paper

Best Wishes

It's Wednesday and that means it's time for another challenge from The House That Stamps Built.  This week we have a fun tic-tac-toe challenge for you:

And here is my card:

 I used the middle column: eyelets, paper piecing, and anniversary.  I also used yellow and blue and though I don't actually have any dew drops, I used clear texture drops on some of the leaves to look like actual dew drops.  You can see them a little better in the photo below.

This is one of my absolute favorite images for paper piecing; the vase looks stunning in so many different patterns.  I just got my new yellow set of spectrum noir markers and it was perfect timing, because these tulips look fabulous in yellow!  And I got to use up some scraps on this one, too.  All the papers on this card are part of my favorite 2 paper packs that are almost all gone (sigh) and are mostly just little strips but it was perfect for this fun layout.  I hope you will get a chance to play along with us this week. Make sure you hop on over to The House Blog to see what the rest of the DT did with this challenge.

Supplies:
Stamps: Repeat Impressions "Vase of Tulips" and "Best Wishes"
Dies: Spellbinders "Classic Circles, large"; MFT "Blueprints 13" stitched rectangle
Darice: damask embossing folder

Challenges:
Come And Get It--In the garden
Die Cuttin' Divas #312--Easter/Spring (tulips are spring flowers in our neck of the woods)
Creative Craft Cottage #85--dies/punches
Shopping Our Stash #298--use punches and/or dies
Di's Digis--spring and/or Easter (spring tulips)
Sweet Stampin'--mellow yellow
Hiding In My Craft Room #296--super scraps
A Bit More Time To Craft #41--anything goes
Brown Sugar #245--anything goes
Little Miss Muffet #160--anything goes
Sugar Pea Designs #30--sketch

Crafting By Designs--anything goes
Creative Inspiration #272--spring spectacular
Crafty Calendar--April Showers or Spring
Crafting with an Attitude--anything goes
Card Mania #91--April Showers bring May Flowers
Crafty Hazelnut's Patterned Paper--anything goes with patterned paper
Unicorn Challenge #20--Petal Power

Eat Cake

I had so much fun playing with my scraps this week!  You can see two other cards I created with SCRAPS from the same old paper pack here and here.  I also made a couple backgrounds and a few fun paper strips that will be showing up soon.  And I made this card with a stripped tag and a paper pieced cupcake liner.  Even more fun: I had these card candies out for an earlier card and was able to use up the rest on this card; I have had them for years and years.

Supplies:
Stamps: Papertrey Ink "Baker's Dozen"
Dies: Papertrey Ink "Baker's Dozen" and "Tag Sale #8"

Challenges:
Hiding In My Craft Room #296--super scraps
A Bit More Time To Craft #41--anything goes
Brown Sugar Challenge #245--anything goes
Aud Sentiments #177--birthday or #7
As You Like It--favorite card base shape & why (my favorite is the A2 rectangle  for the sole reason that you can get two out of an 8X10 inch piece of card stock with no waste.  And I can use invitation envelopes to send them)
Mod Squad--Ya Wanna Piece of Me? (the cupcake liner is paper pieced and I pieced my tag together with strips of patterned paper)
Kraftin' Kimmie Stamps Wonderful Wednesday--anything goes
Simon Says Stamp Wednesday--happy birthday
Addicted To Stamps #236--anything goes
YNS Stamps #61--sketch

Happy Birthday

The last couple of days, I've been having a blast working on using up some scraps from an old paper pack.  It started with the card from my previous post and continued on to this one:

The houndstooth pattern in the back was the larges piece I had left (I did trim it down a bit as it was almost a full 6x6 piece).  But the two other layers were much smaller, so I turned to one of my favorite tricks for using patterned paper: pick a sketch that allows you to cut your patterned paper into smaller pieces and adhere them in a way that makes them look larger.  I cut both pieces of paper in half and then used the circle die cut to cover up the empty spaces.  And no one will ever know, except you!   I used some coordinating paper to paper piece the cupcake liner; it adds such a great touch!  For the base layer, I used water color paper as it's not as bright white as my white card stock, AND it added some awesome texture to the card; it mixes with the texture on the papers.

Supplies:
Stamps: Papertrey Ink "Baker's Dozen"
Dies: Papertrey Ink "Baker's Dozen"; Spellbinders "Classic Circles, large"

Challenges:
Mod Squad--You want a piece of me?  (paper pieced the cupcake liner)
Crafty Creations #338--anything goes
Simon Says Stamp Wednesday--anything goes
A Bit More Time to Craft #41--anything goes
Brown Sugar Challenge #245--anything goes
Aud Sentiments #177--birthday or #7
Crafty Gals #117--3+ layers
Penny's Creations #323--anything goes
Crafting By Designs--anything goes
Die Cuttin' Divas #311--sketch

Crop Stop--anything goes (I used a Spellbinders circle die)
Pixie's Creations #275--anything goes with snippets
Divas that Cut--birthdays

Loving Father

This card is for my Dad's birthday next week.

 I'm working on using up the scraps that are all that is left of a paper pack I have had for a long time.  Most of what is remaining is too small to use for panels like these, BUT The horizontal strip gave the perfect opportunity to actually piece together smaller pieces to look like they are larger.  And no one will ever know!!  I was having so much fun with these papers, that I created another birthday card, just for fun.  I will create separate posts for the following two cards, but I just wanted to show how I'm using the scraps.

I also created a striped panel, but it hasn't made it onto a card yet.  And I still have enough bits to created another tag elements similar to this one.
Anyway, back to my main card, here is the inside:

My dad had rather serious surgery a couple weeks ago so I felt this sentiment held extra meaning this year.

Supplies:
Stamps: Verve "Strong Anchor"
Dies/embossing folders: Verve "Classy Label" die; Sizzix "Flower circles"

Challenges:
Mojo Monday #491--sketch

Crop Stop--anything goes
Dare2B Artzy--anything goes
Crafty Hazelnut's Patterned Paper--anything goes with patterned paper
Divas That Cut--birthday
Cards Galore--anything goes
Kraftin' Kimmie Stamps Wonderful Wednesday--anything goes
Crafty Creations #338--anything goes
Simon Says Stamp Wednesday--happy birthday
Crafty Gals #117--3+ layers
Penny's Challenge #323--anything goes
Crafting By Designs--anything goes

You Make Me Smile

It's Wednesday again, and time for another challenge from The House That Stamps Built.  This week is a designers choice, and Joy has chosen to challenge us to use die cuts!  I love using die cuts, so this wasn't much of a challenge for me!   But I sort of challenged myself to create a CAS card and use die cuts, and I managed to use two on this simple card.  And I used a nice strip of patterned paper that is in the pack I'm working on right now.

I tried the inlaid die cut technique for the first time, and I rather like how it turned out.  I started by die cutting the rounded rectangle.  Then I stamped the image in black onto that rounded rectangle.  I put it back into the base panel and used my stamp-a-ma-jig to line up my image, and after removing the rectangle, I stamped the image again  with a light gray.  I colored the image on the rectangle and then inserting it back into the base panel and adhering them both to my card base.  I die cut the "torn" sentiment strip twice out of vellum so I could adhere them together to create a little more distinction for the sentiment.  I inked the edges of the panel to add a bit of interest and make the white blend in with the patterned paper better.  I hope you will get a chance to play along with us this week; this is an easy one.

Supplies:
Stamps: Repeat Impressions "Bass Harbor Light (lg)" and "You Make Me Smile"
Dies: MFT "Smartphone" die--rounded rectangle, and "Blueprints 13" washi tape strip

Challenges:
Dare2B Artzy--anything goes
LTCCB #9--anything goes
CAS Mixup--stamping, inlaid die cutting + your choice (I use sponging, heat embossing, and coloring)
Scrapper's Delights #65--anything goes
Addicted To CAS #108--smile
YNS #61--sketch (I flipped it to the opposite side to fit my image better)

Girlz Rule

Happy April!  It's no joke that it is time for our new challenge on The Love To Scrap Challenge Blog!  This time we are celebrating women with our Girlz Rule! challenge.  Just make sure it's a girly creation!  Our wonderful sponsors are:

Pickled Potpourri

Little Blue Button Stamps

Heartfelt Creations

I just got this gorgeous multiple step set from Hero Arts and wanted to get it inky!!  The poppies are just stunning and there are actually four different layer stamps for each, counting the "fluff" in the center.  I think I need to find a lighter red for the base color so all the depth and details are able to stand out,  but I still really like how they look!

I hope you will get a chance to play along with us this month; I can't wait to see what you create!

Supplies:
Stamps: Hero Arts "Color Layering Poppy"
Dies: Hero Arts "Color Layering Poppy Frame Cuts"; Spellbinders "Teardrop circles

Challenges:
Cardz TV #6--anything goes
Creative Fingers #127--anything goes
Fussy & Fancy #184--embellish it (I used pearls and ribbons)
Cute Card Thursday #741--warm colours/tones
Kraftin' Kimmie Stamps Wonderful Wednesday--anything goes
Inspiration Destination #125--anything goes
Crafty Creations #338-anything goes
Simon Says Stamp Wednesday--anything goes
Crafty Gals #116--anything goes
Penny's Challenge #322--anything goes
Die Cuttin' Divas #310--anything goes