Friday, December 29, 2023

Thinking of you

Happy Friday!!!  It's time for a new challenge from the Cut It Up Challenge Blog.  This week, the challenge is: Anything Goes!!

Here is my card for your inspiration:

Actually, I have a whole bunch of cards.  I know they are fall themed, but I'm finishing up a project I started back in October!  These were all created using Kendra's Card Template and cutting guide.  You end up using 6 sheets of 6x6 paper (use them all up except for a very few tiny scraps) and create 15 cards.  It's really fun and I'm finishing up this quarter's cards just in time!!  So, here are the rest:

Card #1:
For all of the cards, I used the same 4 colors of card stock: cream, kraft, chocolate and pops of orange on the leaves.  I used a woodgrain embossing folder on some of them and orange mulberry paper on most (it's such a great way to add texture and interest), and I used rhinestones from an orange/yellow pack.  I tried to keep them all in the "thankful/thinking of you" theme and ended up using two different stamp sets and a single sentiment stamp.

Card #2:
This card was already posted on my blog.  If you want to read the details, you can go here.

Card #3:
This one really had me intimidated and I left it for last.  I do kind of like how it turned out.  It definitely has a retro feel to me.  I used this kraft colored grossgrain ribbon on several of the cards.  I really try to keep to a limited range of products to keep everything looking cohesive.

Card #4:
I just love the texture from the mulberry paper.  And the cream "sweater" paper gives it such a cozy feel!

Card #5:
Again, the sweater paper adds a cozy feel and these detailed leaves add so much interest!

Card #6:
One of my sheets of paper was a plain, dark brown.  After creating all the cards, I probably should have chosen a different sheet of paper because it just looks like brown cardstock.

Card #7:
This one is really interesting.  I did use a one-off product on this one (meaning I only used it on this one card), but the large sentiment die really fit perfectly in the center and I don't think any of my elements would have worked so well.  I die cut the sentiment twice and adhered them together and then backed it with vellum so it would stand out from the patterned background.

Card #8:
Not one of my favorites, I have to say.  I ran out of large pieces of kraft card stock, so I had to create an entire panel with the mulberry paper.  I do like the texture, but it brings a lot more orange into this card than any of the others.

Card #9:
This card is what inspired me to pull out this intricate leaf die.  Otherwise the card was a bit blah (because of that brown patterned paper I chose!).  My other leaf die I was using was too large, this was just the perfect size!

Card #10:
Love this cute little leaf print!

Card #11:
These little banners are so cute, but again, the brown paper really doesn't accentuate the layout.

Card #12:
I think this one is my favorite!  I LOVE this leaf print paper and adding the fancy border die cuts just fancies it up so much for me!

Card #13:
This is kind of a fun one, too.

Card #14:
Very dark with all the brown, but I had run out of the kraft card stock by this point.  

Card #15:
I was a little intimidated by this layout at first too, but it ended up being another of my favorites.  I think it's the brightness of that leaf paper.

Thanks so much for stopping by!  I hope you will hop over to the Cut It Up blog for the full details of the challenge and to see what the rest of the Design Team has created. 

Card #1:
Supplies: 
Stamps: Pretty Pink Posh "Thoughtful Greetings"
Dies: PaperTrey Ink leaf; Spellbinders "Classic Circles, large"
Darice Woodgrain embossing folder

Challenges:
Can You Handle the Pressure--anything goes with the optional twist: Christmas (I did not use the twist)

Card #2:
Supplies:
Stamps: Repeat Impressions "I'm so glad . . ."
Dies: Papertrey Ink leaf
Darice Woodgrain embossing folder

Challenges:
Word Art Wednesday #626--anything goes with uplifting sentiment

Card #3:
Supplies:
Stamps: Verve "Accent Notes"
Dies: Papertrey Ink leaf; MFT "Blueprints 12" stitched circle; Spellbinders "Classic Circles, large"
Darice Woodgrain embossing folder

Challenges:
Creative Fingers #268--anything goes

Card #4:
Supplies:
Stamps: Repeat Impressions "I'm so glad . . ."
Dies: Papertrey Ink leaf
Darice Woodgrain embossing folder

Challenges:

Card #5:
Supplies:
Stamps: Verve "Accent Notes"
Dies: Spellbinders "Classic Circles, large"; unbranded leaf die

Challenges:

Card #6:
Supplies:
Stamps: Pretty Pink Posh "Thoughtful Greetings"
Dies: PaperTrey Ink leaf
Darice Woograin embossing folder

Challenges:
The Paper Shelter--anything goes

Card #7:
Supplies:
Dies: Unbranded thank you die

Challenges:
A Gem of a Challenge--anything goes

Card #8:
Supplies:
Stamps: Verve "Accent Notes:
Dies: Spellbinders "Classic Circles, large"; MFT "Blueprints #12" stitched circle and "Mini Delicate Doilies"

Challenges:
Krafty Chicks #696--all occasions (thinking of you is an occasion)uy

Card #9:
Supplies:
Stamps: Pretty Pink Posh "Thoughtful Greetings" 
Dies: unbranded leaf die

Card #10:
Supplies:
Stamps: Pretty Pink Posh "Thoughtful Greetings"
Darice Woodgrain embossing folder

Challenges:
Alphabet Challenge--T is for texture (embossing folder, ribbon and mulberry paper, plus rhinestones)

Card #11:
Supplies:
Stamps: Pretty Pink Posh "Thoughtful Greetings"

Card #12:
Supplies:
Stamps: Verve "Accent Notes"
Dies: MFT "Blueprints 12" small circle; PaperTrey Ink "Filigree" border die
Darice Woodgrain embossing folder

Challenges:
Snippets Playground #470--anything BUT Christmas using snippets (these card are the ultimate use of snippets--using up 6 entire sheets of pattern paper; but also, the border dies and sentiment circle were cut from snippets, and the mulberry mat was torn from a tiny scrap of mulberry paper.)

Card #13:
Supplies:
Stamps: Verve "Accent Notes"
Dies: PaperTrey Ink leaf; MFT "Blueprints 12" small circle and banner

Card #14:
Supplies:
Stamps: Pretty Pink Posh "Thoughtful Greetings"
Dies: Papertrey Ink leaf; Spellbinders "Classic Circles, large"
Darice Woodgrain embossing folder

Card #15:
Supplies:
Stamps: Repeat Impressing "I'm so glad . . ."
Dies: unbranded leaf




Monday, December 25, 2023

Party on

 Hello, everyone!  Here is a mid-challenge reminder for our "It's a Wrap" challenge over on the Creative Moments Challenge blog.  You still have almost 2 weeks to play along with us.  We have two sponsors and the image I used today came from All Dressed Up.  Here is my card:
I took a little bit different twist on the "It's a Wrap" theme: I created a card celebrating the "wrapping up" of an old year and the beginning of a new year.  I die cut some gold glitter numbers, colored up these beauties from All Dressed up and added some gold sequins for a whole lot of sparkle and bling!!  I added some gold nuvo glitter pen to the layers of the skirt on the blue dress.  You can see it better in the photo below.
I added a fun party sentiment that is meant for a birthday card, but I thought it worked perfectly for this party card!!
Remember, you still have almost 2 weeks to play.  So, get inky and link up your creation; I can't wait to see what you create!

Supplies:
Stamps:  All Dressed Up "Best Frocks"; MFT "Anything But Basic Birthday Wishes" sentiment
Dies: PTI "By the Numbers" number dies

Challenges:
Creative Inspirations--Happy Christmas/Happy New Year
Creatalicious #273--anything goes with the optional twist: Christmas/New Year
613 Avenue Create--anything goes with the optional twist: any winter holiday
Aud Sentiments #308--embossing folder AND/OR winter/New Year
Penny's Challenge #561--anything goes
Di's Digis--any winter holiday
As You Like It--Anything goes
Shopping Our Stash #512--winter holidays













The Paper Shelter--anything goes
A Gem of a Challenge--anything goes

Saturday, December 16, 2023

Blessed

 One of the pastors of our church is retiring at the end of the month.  We are having a little celebration for him tomorrow morning before church.  This is the card I created for him:

I was able to use a piece of patterned paper (well, at least most of it) that I wasn't sure how I was ever going to use.  It is a bullseye (target), and I think it caught my eye because the sketch I chose to use had these arrow elements in it.  It seemed fitting and nice and manly.  So, I die cut it with a stitched rectangle die and matted it on cream card stock before adding it to a chocolate brown card base.  The cream really makes it pop!  I used the same cream for the sentiment panel and matted it with the brown card stock as well.  Die cut two silver arrows and some red hearts and finished it all off with some silver brads.

Supplies:
Stamp: Verve "Jeremiah 17:7" Plain Jane
Dies: Verve stars; Spellbinders "A2 Matting Basics A" rectangle and "You Are Here" arrow; MFT "Blueprints 13" stitched rectangle

Challenges:
Double Trouble Challenge #155--Die-cember (Thing #1: use a die cut)
Cards Galore #188--anything goes
We Love Stamping--winter flowers AND/OR foliage OR anything goes (I chose the anything goes option)













Penny's Challenge #561--anything goes
A Gem of a Challenge--anything goes
Word Art Wednesday #626--anything goes with uplifting sentiment
As You Like It--anything goes
Creative Fingers #268--anything goes
Alphabet Challenge--S is for stars


Friday, December 15, 2023

Plaid Christmas

Happy Friday!!!  It's time for a new challenge from the Cut It Up Challenge Blog.  This week, the challenge is: Celebrate!

Here is my card for your inspiration:
Of course, at this time of year, I am all about celebrating Christmas and the birth of Jesus!!  So, my celebrate card is a Christmas card, though you can create a project with any celebration in mind.  This card was rather quick and easy to create, which is a bonus this time of year.  I pulled out two plaid patterned papers from the same pack, cut a bit of red satin ribbon, die cut the snowflake and the banner die (I actually die cut this three times and glued them all together for dimension), stamped the sentiment and adhered everything together finishing it off with some clear rhinestones!  Probably one of my fastest in a long time!  You can't see it very well in the photo, but the snowflake is die cut from white glitter paper for a bit of fun sparkle!

Thanks so much for stopping by!  I hope you will hop over to the Cut It Up blog for the full details of the challenge and to see what the rest of the Design Team has created. 

Supplies:
Stamps: Verve "Ornamental Christmas"
Dies: PaperTrey Ink "Fancy Flakes"; MFT "Blueprints 12" stitched banner

Challenges:
Jingle Belles--anything goes (Christmas related, of course!)
Double Trouble #155--Die-cember (Thing #1: use a die cut; #3: ribbobn, bow, string, cord, twine or washi--I used ribbon; #2: play along with Use Your Stuff challenge--I did!)
Use Your Stuff #481--wrap it up (I wrapped ribbon around my base layer)
Shopping Our Stash #511--whatever the weather (I have snow)
Cards Galore #118--anything goes
ABC Christmas--Y is for your choice
Crafty Calendar--Christmas themed
Creative Inspirations--Happy Christmas/Happy New Year
Crafty Gals Corner #250--'Tis the Season
613 Avenue Create--anything goes with the optional twist: any winter holiday
Penny's Challenge #561--anything goes
Di's Digi Stamps--any winter holiday
Sweet Stampin'--Christmas
A Gem of a Challenge--anything goes













Fab n' Funky--Christmas
Lil' Red Wagon #735--Merry Christmas
CRAFT #702--Christmas
As You Like It--anything goes

Monday, December 11, 2023

All Wrapped Up

 Hello, everyone!  It's time for a new challenge from the Creative Moments Challenge blog.  The theme is: It's a Wrap.  I am using an image from one of our fabulous sponsors: Mirtillamente.

 Here is my card:
I decided to create a gatefold card.  Unfortunately, they are so hard to photograph well.  But it is a fun twist on a regular fold card, so it was worth it.  I just LOVED her shoes (I'm a total shoe queen) and wanted to make them really fun.  So I colored them with a sparkly black pen and added red marker to the soles for a fun pop of color.  They weren't quite sparkly enough for my liking, so I added a bit of gold Wink of Stella over top of the black.  It wasn't quite what I was looking for either, but it definitely added more sparkle.  You can see that sparkle in the last photo of this post.  I already had some of these snowflakes punched out on my desk, but they weren't the correct shade of white to go with my image panel, so I punched out some more out of some white glitter paper.  I finished everything off with a button and some twine.
Sparkly shoes!!

You have all month to play along.  So, get inky and link up your creation; I can't wait to see what you create!

Supplies:
Stamps: Mirtillamente "Mrs. Peter 2" digi; Verve "Ornamental Christmas" sentiment
Dies: Kat Scrappiness "Crafter's Essentials 1" rounded stitched rectangle; MFT "Blueprints 12" stitched banner

Challenges:
Inkspirational Challenge #304--add glitter (I have glitter paper and glitter pen--I hope that is enough)













Creative Knockouts #509--Tis the Season
Creative Fingers #267--anything goes
Use Your Stuff #481--wrap it up!
Double Trouble #155--Die-cember (Thing #1: use a die cut, Thing #3: ribbon, bow, string, cord, twine or washi {I used twine}, Thing #2: play along with Use Your Stuff #481--wrap it up)













Cards Galore #118--anything goes

Friday, December 1, 2023

Silent Night

 Happy Friday!!!  It's time for a new challenge from the Cut It Up Challenge Blog.  This week, the challenge is: Use more than ONE die cut:

Here is my card for your inspiration:
I had this Christmas paper pack out for another card I made earlier in the week, so I decided to keep going with it.  One of the snowflakes was left over from another project, so I die cut a second to match (although I accidently die cut a larger size than the first one).  I stamped my sentiment and then added a silhouette image of Joseph, Mary and Baby Jesus in a light gray ink.  I finished the card off with gray twine and some clear rhinestones.
Thanks so much for stopping by!  I hope you will hop over to the Cut It Up blog for the full details of the challenge and to see what the rest of the Design Team has created. 

Supplies:
Stamps: Verve "Peace On Earth" sentiment and "Beyond Measure" image
Dies: PaperTrey Ink "Layered Snowflakes: Drift"

Challenges:
Creative Inspirations--contemporary Christmas colors













MFT Christmas--anything Christmas goes
Penny's Challenge #566--anything goes
Word Art Wednesday #624--anything goes with uplifting sentiment
A Gem of a Challenge--anything goes

Christmas Bear

Happy December 1st!  It's time for a new challenge on the Critter Crazy Challenge blog!  As always, it is a month long challenge: Anything Goes as long as you feature a creature.  Here is my card for your inspiration:

I was using this paper pack for another card I made this week and decided to keep going with it.  There are so many beautiful papers--I really love this pattern with the gold foiled words and snowflakes.  It just so happened that the reverse side of this paper had polar bears on it!  (You can just see that on the circle behind the polar bear image.)  Polar bears are probably my favorite Christmas critter, so I HAD to pull out this oldie but goodie from Bugaboo Stamps--I've had him for years and years and years, but I still love him!  To match the gold foiling on the paper, I heat embossed my sentiments with gold embossing powder.  You can see the shimmer and shine in the photo below.  I finished it all off with a large die cut snowflake and a clear rhinestone.

Thanks for stopping by!  Hop on over to the Critter Crazy blog and check out the details and the rest of the projects from the Design Team.

Supplies:
Stamps: Bugaboo Stamps "Polar Bear" digi; Verve "Peace on Earth" large sentiment and "Richly Blessed" small sentiment
Dies: Spelbinders "A2 Matting Basics A" rectangle; PaperTrey Ink "Fancy Flakes"; MFT Stamps "Blueprints 12" stitched banner die

Challenges:
Cutie Pie Challenge #188--digis & die cuts
MFT Christmas--anything Christmas goes
Penny's Challenge #566--anything goes
Word Art Wednesday #624--anything goes with uplifting sentiments
Di's Digi Designs--Christmas with NO red or green
A Gem of a Challenge--anything goes