Love Begins

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:

My best friend's first child (oldest boy) is getting married this weekend!  It's hard to believe we are at that age already (well, actually, my children are a bit younger and not quite ready for getting married, but I'm almost there!).  This is the card I created for him and his soon to be wife!  There are a lot of roses, and gold, and embossing and all sorts of beautiful things going on here!  I started with the gorgeous roses!  These are hands down my favorite flower stamps.  The layering (if you can get them lined up correctly) is fabulous and they always turn out so beautiful!  Then I chose my sentiment--the main sentiment is one stamp and the three large words are individual stamps so you can create a sentiment with different colors.  I chose to use black ink for the main part and then heat embossed the large words with gold embossing powder for some extra glam!  I stamped the background piece with the same pink from the flowers and a light gray and then I heat embossed one of the design elements with gold embossing powder to add more shine and tie in with the sentiment.  I added a bit of gold glitter paper and a piece of gold satin ribbon down the side and finished it all off with gold Nuvo drops in the center of the background elements and as embellishments on the sentiment panel.

While in the middle of heat embossing my background, one of my cats tried to jump up on my desk and ended up scattering a whole bunch of things onto the floor including almost an entire jar of the gold embossing powder!!  Thankfully, I have tile floors, but still, I had to sweep it all up and now there is cat hair and other pieces of dirt in it.  So, moral of the story is: If you think to yourself "I should dump this powder back into the jar before moving on." DO IT!!  You will save yourself a mess and the aggravation of having to clean up that mess!

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: Papertrey Ink "The Sweet Life", "Guide Lines Two" and "Inside Out: Love"

Dies: Papertrey Ink "The Sweet Life"; Spellbinders "Labels 37" (even though I have had this for years and years and years, it may be the first time I have used the set); MFT "Blueprints 13" stitched rectangle

Challenges:

Paper Funday #65--anything goes with the optional twist: flower shoppe

Aud Sentiments #313--foiling AND/OR Flowers

Beautiful Blossoms #17--anything goes with flowers

MFT Card Cue--flower power

Sketch Saturday #751--sketch (I turned it on its side and adjusted the circle elements a little bit to fit my sentiment better) with the optional twist: use a die cut shape

Lil' Patch of Crafty Friends #230--anything goes

Double Trouble #167--6th Anniversary Raffle (#1: I chose wedding/anniversary--yellow ticket, #2: I partnered with Beautiful Blossoms, and Paper Funday)

Shopping Our Stash #522--how does your garden grow

Word Art #650--anything goes with uplifting sentiment

Penny's Challenge #572--anything goes

Simon Says Stamp Monday--lots of texture (I have smooth card stock, rough glitter paper, satiny ribbon and the dots from the Nuvo drops, as well as the gold heat embossing)

Simon Says Stamp Wednesday--anything goes

Sleepy Kitty

Hello, everyone!  It's time for the mid-month reminder for the challenge from the Creative Moments Challenge blog.  The theme is: Ribbons & Bows.  I am using an image from one of our fabulous sponsors: All Dressed Up.

 Here is my card:

I used this sweet sleeping kitty image to create a cute Christmas card.  I've had it printed out for quite a while and now was the perfect chance to use it.  I used a few scraps of card stock and some polka dotted ribbon to follow the sketch.  And I colored up the kitty's bow to match the ribbon.  

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: All Dressed Up "Christmas Kitty" digi; Verve "Peace On Earth" sentiment

Dies: Spellbinders "Classic Circles, large"; MFT "Blueprints 13" washi strip and "Fancy Flourish"

Challenges: 

Sparkles Christmas Challenge #160--add ribbon or twine

Pattie's Creations #218--anything goes

Sweet Sketch Wednesday 2 #277--sketch

Snippets Playground #480--anything goes with snippets (all the patterned papers were scraps, the sentiment strip was die cut from scraps and the image was printed for a project I never ended up creating)

MFT Christmas--anything Christmas goes

C.R.A.F.T. #721--Christmas

Creative Knockouts #522--anything goes

Jingle Belles--tree skirt tic-tac-toe (I used the diagonal: ribbon, red or green, silver)

Double D--polka dots

Krafty Chicks #717--all occasions

Eternity

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

Here is my card for your inspiration:

I have a wedding to go to this weekend and this is the card I created.  It feels kind of dark for a wedding card, as they seem to have lots of white, but I felt like using purple for the rose and then I spotted this fabulous, subtle gray patterned paper and I went from there.  The paper was a little dark, so I added a layer of adhesive vellum over top to soften it up a little.  I used a lot of silver card stock for shine and finished everything off with some white pearls sprinkled about.  You can see all the shine in the photo below:

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: Papertrey Ink "The Sweet Life" flowers and "Inside and Out Love" sentiment

Dies: Papertrey Ink "The Sweet Life"; MFT Stamps ornate corner die

Challenges:

Make My Monday #225--florals

Through The Purple Haze #215--anything goes

We Love Stamping--vintage AND/OR anything goes

Craft Rockets #114--flowers

Paper Funday #65--anything goes with the optional twist: flower shoppe

Moving Along With the Times #166--flowers

Aud Sentiments #313--foiling AND/OR Flowers

Beautiful Blossoms #17--anything goes with the optional mood board

Try a Sketch on Tuesday #646--sketch (I did flip the sketch upside down)

Word Art Wednesday #648--anything goes with uplifting sentiment

Crafting Happiness #171--blooms or birds

Simon Says Stamp Monday--romance, wedding, anniversary

Simon Says Stamp Wednesday--patterned paper

First Dance

Hello, everyone!  It's time for a new challenge from the Creative Moments Challenge blog.  The theme is: Ribbons and/or Bows.  I am using an image from our fabulous sponsors: All Dressed Up.

 Here is my card:

The oldest son of my best friend is getting married in two weeks!!  Two weeks ago, some of us at church threw his bride-to-be a wedding shower.  It was amazing!  This is the card I created to give her with my gift.  For some reason, my printed just decided it did not want to accept my card stock anymore, so I had to do a quick readjust and printed this out on printer paper which is definitely NOT a good medium on which to use alcohol markers.  So, I had to pull out my colored pencils which I rarely ever do.  Thankfully, there wasn't a lot of area to color as most of it is the bride's white dress!  I matted the image on black cardstock, then some torn mulberry paper before adding it to an embossed white panel.  I finished everything off with a fun sentiment, some pearls and a yummy black and white dotted ribbon and bow.

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: All Dressed Up "First Dance" digi; PaperTrey Ink "Together Forever" sentiment

Cuttlebug damask embossing folder

Challenges:

Through The Purple Haze #215--anything goes

Pattie's Creations #218--anything goes

Sheepski Designs #86--anything goes

Can You Handle The Pressure--anything goes with the optional twist: flowers

Art Impressions Stamps #378--just for you (I made this for the bride-to-be)

Simon Says Stamp Monday--romance, wedding, anniversary

The Paper Shelter #596--lots of layers

You are amazing

This is the latest installment of my attempt to use up this paper pack; it just keeps multiplying!!  This first card used up a TON of little strips of paper!!  I pieced each layer together (but I'll let you in on a secret: I didn't put strips on the portions that are covered by other layers) using different narrow strips of the paper.  It creates a lot of color and interest and is kind of fun.  I added a bit of ribbon and a single pearl to the body of the butterfly.

The second card also uses a herringbone piecing technique, but I was able to use more of the larger pieces.

I think this third card is my favorite.  I just love that yellow rose paper; it has a bit of gold foiling in the pattern.  It is so gorgeous!!

And the final card used a bunch of circles.  I had several squares that were just the right size for my circle die and voila!

That's it for now, but there will be more, probably several more--those scraps just keep coming.

Card 1:

Supplies:

Stamps: YNS "Whatnot Sentiments Thirteen"; Verve "Blue Skies"

Martha Stewart butterfly punch

Challenges:

Creative Fingers #277--anything goes

Cards Galore #123--anything goes

Crafty Calendar--anything goes

We Love Stamping--vintage OR anything goes

Tuesday Morning Sketches #756--sketch

Lil' Red Wagon #755--create your own background

Card 2:

Supplies:

Stamps: YNS "Whatnot Sentiments Thirteen"; Papertrey Ink "The Sweet Life"

Dies: Spellbinders "Classic Ovals, large"

Martha Stewart butterfly punch

Challenges:

A Gem of a Challenge--anything goes

Make My Monday #225--florals

Craft Rockets #114--flowers

The Paper Funday #65--anything goes with the optional twist: flower shoppe

Moving Along With the Times #166--flowers

Aud Sentiments #313--foiling AND/OR flowers

Beautiful Blossoms #16--anything goes with flowers with the optional mood board

MFT Sketch #697--sketch

Card 3:

Supplies:

Stamps: YNS "Whatnot Sentiments Thirteen" 

Martha Stewart butterfly punch

Challenges:

Lil' Patch of Crafty Friends #229--anything goes

Through the Purple Haze #215--anything goes

Sheepski Designs #86--anything goes

Crafty Gals Corner#255--anything goes with the optional twist: lace or pearls648

Word Art Wednesday #648--anything goes with uplifting sentiment

Pixie's Snippets Playground #480--anything goes using snippets (all the pattern pieces and cardstock were scraps, and the butterflies were punched from a scrap of card stock)

Card 4:

Supplies:

Stamps: YNS "Whatnot Sentiments Thirteen" 

Dies: Spellbinders "Classic Circles, large"

Martha Stewart butterfly punch

Challenges:

Sketch Saturday #750--sketch

Unicorn Challenge #98--for the girls

Creative Inspirations--feminine

{Pin}spirational Challenge #313--patterned paper

Penny's Challenge #571--anything goes

Simon Says Stamp Wednesday--use dies

Amazing

 If you have been by to visit by blog in the last several weeks, you may have heard me talk about trying to use up the scraps from a patterned paper pack I have.  This card uses some of the last remaining "larger" scraps; they were just large enough for this fabulous sketch I found.  I love a good sketch and they are often perfect for using up scraps just like this.

Supplies:

Stamps: YNS "Whatnot Sentiments #13"

Dies: unbranded butterfly die

Challenges:

Atlantic Hearts Sketch Challenge #576--sketch

Creative Fingers #277--anything goes

A Gem of a Challenge--anything goes

Lil' Patch of Crafty Friends #229--anything goes

Cards Galore #123--anything goes

Crafty Calendar--anything goes

Creative Inspirations--feminine

Crafty Gals Corner #256--anything goes with the optional twist: lace AND/OR pearls

{Pin}spirational Challenge #313--patterned paper

Triple B--anything goes with butterflies, blooms, or birds and the optional mood board

Word Art Wednesday #648--anything goes with uplifting sentiment

Penny's Challenge #571--anything goes

Simon Says Stamp Wednesday--use die cuts

Mother's Day

Today I'm sharing the Mother's Day card I made for my mother-in-law.  I didn't put any sentiment on the outside because I really didn't want to take away from this stunning butterfly!  But I will show the Mother's Day sentiment on the inside at the end of this post.

For the bast couple of weeks I've been working on using up this patterned paper pack.  I'm down to a lot of small scraps, so I have been getting creative with how to stretch those scraps.  Probably many of you already know this, but I just wanted to share a quick little behind the scenes view of how I do it.  This works best if you use a sketch (or layout0 that has a lot of layers--layers that you can hide things behind.  In the photo below, you can see that each panel has been pieced together.  Most of the time, the patterned paper doesn't come close to covering the mat layer.

Once those layers are placed together on the card base, you see how most of the bare spots are hidden behind other layers.

And once I add the focal circle, no one will ever know that these are not full sized patterned paper panels!

I added a large die cut butterfly and finished it off with a bunch of pearls lining the body.  Here is the sentiment on the inside:

Supplies:

Stamps: Papertrey Ink "Tucked In: Mother"

Dies: unbranded butterfly; Spellbinders "Classic Circles, large"

Challenges:

Creative Fingers #279--anything goes

Lil' Patch of Crafty Friends #229--anything goes

Cards Galore #123--anything goes

Crafty Calendar--anything goes

Sheepski Designs #86--anything goes

Creative Inspirations--feminine

Crafty Gals Corner #256--anything goes with the optional twist: use lace or pearls

{Pin}spirational Challenge #313--patterned paper

Triple B--anything goes with the optional mood board

Cheerful Sketches--sketch

Penny's Challenge #571--anything goes

Simon Says Stamp Wednesday--use die cuts

 

Amazing

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

Here is my card for your inspiration:

If you've visited my blog recently, you may remember that I am working on using up the end of a paper pack.  This card is another one using up some of those scraps.  I found a fun sketch using some fishtail banners that were perfect for using some of the larger pieces of patterned paper.  I pulled out the pink in the floral piece with a hot pink circle mat for my beautiful butterfly that I die cut out of a pale pink.  The die is actually designed to die cut two separate pieces that can interlock and be used on the top of a treat box, or something similar.  It creates two bodies with alternating slots that can fit together.  I wanted to just use it as a butterfly, so I carefully trimmed off some extra pieces on the bodies and layered them together to make it look like one piece.  To hide the slots, I added a bunch of pale pink pearls and unless you look really, really, really closely you can't even tell!  I finished everything off with a sweet sentiment and some hot pink 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: Your Next Stamp "Whatnot Sentiment Set Thirteen" sentiment

Dies: Unbranded butterfly die; Spellbinders "Classic Circles, large"

Challenges:

Creative Sketchy Girls Challenge #90--sketch

NBUS--never before used schtuff (first time out of the packaging for this butterfly die)

Triple B--blooms, butterflies, or birds

Word Art Wednesday #646--anything goes with uplifting sentiment

Penny's Challenge #570--anything goes

Pixie's Snippets Playground #468--anything goes with snippets (all the elements were cut from snippets)

Simon Says Stamp Monday--feminine

Double Trouble--SomeThing, AnyThing, EveryThing (Thing #1: anything goes)

Simon Says Stamp Wednesday--feminine

Who's turning 7??

 Happy May 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:

My youngest nephew just turned 7!!  I can't believe it!  Where has the time gone?  While I was looking through my Pinterest boards a while ago, I came across a card with a number wreath with the specific age highlighted and I wanted to sort of recreate that look.  So, I die all the numbers out of dark brown card stock and the "7" a second time in yellow to make it stand out.  I die cut a circle out of craft card stock and adhered the numbers around the edge of the circle using a smaller circle to help space them out.  I stamped my sentiment on white card stock and then die cut an arrow out of red card stock to help draw even more attention to the "7".  Then I stenciled my kraft layer with pawprints and then die cut it to create a fun pop-up slider card with a hidden message.  I used more red and yellow card stock to keep the card feeling bold and bright and finished the front of with a sweet little kitty!

On the inside I finished the sentiment and added another little kitten having fun with a ball of yarn.

Interactive cards are fun for any age, but I especially like to make them for kids as I know they enjoy the movement and hidden surprises.

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: PaperTrey Ink "Big Birthday Wishes" all sentiments except the hidden one and "Just Sentiments: Birthday" hidden sentiment; MFT "Cat-astrophe" cat; Lawn Fawn "Push Here"

Dies: PaperTrey Ink "By the Numbers Border Die"; MFT "Slider Surprise" and "Blueprints 13"; Spellbinders "Classic Circles, Large" and "You are Here" arrow

Challenges:

613 Avenue Create--anything goes with the optional twist: a splash of color (my yellow is the splash)

Crafty Catz #670--for a boy

Creative Fingers #276--anything goes

A Gem of a Challenge--anything goes

Lil' Patch of Crafty Friends #228--anything goes

Word Art Wednesday #646--anything goes with uplifting sentiment

Penny's Challenge #570--anything goes

Creative Knockouts #520--for the kids

Krafty Chicks #713--all occasions

Creative Creases #81--fun fold