Party

Happy April 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:

You are actually getting a little sneak peek here.  I'm posting this card just a little early so I can play along with Atlantic Heart Sketch Challenge.  Sometimes you just like a sketch so much that you HAVE to play along!  This one was fun, super easy and would be a fantastic way to use up a bunch of scraps!  My little "enamel dots" are actually pearler beads that I melted down in the oven.  I did a whole bunch several years ago.  Some of them (I'm guessing cheaper knock-off beads) melted down like donuts--with a hole still in the center--but some of them melted into these perfect little domed dots.  I pulled out all these different greens that matched my patterned papers perfectly!!

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: My Favorite Things "The Whole Herd" cow and sentiment

Dies: My Favorite Things "Blueprints 13" washi tape strip and fishtail banner

Challenges:

Atlantic Hearts Sketch Challenge #622--sketch

Spring Hello

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

Here is my card for your inspiration:

When I was making this card above, I ended up cutting the "hello" out of the card base incorrectly to line up with the space in the patterned paper, so I had to die cut another panel and was left with this one sitting on my desk.  I wanted to jazz it up a bit, so I found a background stamp and inked it up with some turquoise ink, hoping for a little tone on tone look, but it ended up a little more bold than I was anticipating.  

I stamped the flowers three different times for each flowers: once on white card stock to create the white border and twice on the patterned paper so I could cut out both layers and add some dimension between them.  I created a shaker element out of the die cut "hello" window and added some more of the sequins scattered around for embellishments.  It's bright and happy and hopefully will brighten the recipient's day.

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 "Joyful Blooms"

Dies: My Favorite Things "Essential Hello" and "Falling Leaves"

Challenges:

Creative Inspirations--anything goes 

We Love Stamping--hello spring or anything goes

Craft Rockets #123--for the girls

Pixie's Snippets Challenge #502--anything goes using snippets (my base layer was left over from creating a different card, all the leaves were die cut from a scrap of green card stock and all the flowers were stamped and fussy cut from snippets of left over white card stock)

Art Impressions Stamps #399--I like to move it, move it (shaker element)

Try A Sketch on Tuesday #666--sketch

Cupcake Inspirations #613--sky blue, pink, green

Make My Monday #247--use a die or punch

Beautiful Blossoms #27--anything with flowers goes with optional mood board (I did not use the mood board)

Triple B--birds, blooms or butterflies with the optional twist: use green

To the Moon

 Hello, everyone!  It's time for the mid-month reminder for the challenge from the Creative Moments Challenge blog.  The theme is: For A Special Lady.  I am using an image from our fabulous sponsor: Mirtillamente.

 Here is my card:

I think this will be the birthday card for my mom, who's birthday is next month.  It all started with me being lazy and not wanting to take the time to print out an image from the sponsor.  I happened to have one printed out on a piece of printer weight paper.  Not really sure why as I always print them out on cardstock.  But I decided to see what happened when I colored it up and I think it turned out really beautiful!  So, I fussy cut it out and die cut a white card stock circle and adhered the image to it.  I went looking for some purple patterned paper and came across this vintage-y pack I had forgotten about.  They are all slightly textured and have a lot of really elegant, subtle patterns.  I picked a purple and a green to accent the image.   The gray ribbon is actually two quite small pieces that I pieced together behind the circle.  To tie that in, I used a dark gray cardstock for the base layer.  I stamped the sentiment and added a bunch of gray pearls to finish everything off.

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 "Flowerz Moon" digi; Verve "To the Moon" sentiment

Dies: Spellbinders "Classic Circles, Large"

Challenges: 

Cards Galore #133--anything goes

Pattie's Creations #222--anything goes

Creatalicious #287--anything goes with the optional twist: Easter/spring (I did not use the optional twist)

Craft Rockets #123--for the girls

Sweet Sketch Wednesday 2 #298--sketch

613 Avenue Create--anything goes with the optional twist: any occasion

Beautiful Blossoms #27--anything goes with the optional mood board (I did not use the mood board)

Triple B--green

Make My Monday #247--use a die or punch

Word Art Wednesday #692--anything goes with uplifting sentiment

Penny's Challenge #592--anything goes

Lil' Patch of Crafty Friends #250--anything goes

Double Trouble #187--SomeThing, AnyThing, EveryThing (#1: 3 colors [green, purple, gray], 2 embellishments [ribbon and pearls], 1 sentiment)

The Paper Shelter #630--anything goes with the optional twist: for the ladies

Hang in there

 I have something fun for you today!  I've been working on using up some of those bits and pieces that you end up with after making a bunch of cards--those die cuts that didn't work on the card, or extra pieces that you didn't need, small pieces of card stock that were left after die cutting, etc.  This card idea started with the "hello" die cut piece.  I had die cut the letters for a previous card (which you can find here) and as I was looking at it, I thought it would be really fun to turn it into a shaker card.  So, I did!  And here it is:

Thankfully, the letter are all connected in the "hello" die.  So, I laid the pink die cut piece on top of the blue layer and slide the die into place underneath so I could cut the blue piece in the same place.  I stamped the sentiment onto the patterned paper and stamped, colored and fussy cut the bunny image on a white card stock piece.  I attempted to ink some clouds with a stencil and white craft ink, but it didn't show up very well on the photo.  So, I die cut some clouds out of another scrap of white card stock and adhered them to the "sky".  I added some die cut grass to the bottom of the card and then turned the main panel into a shaker card with some blue and gold sequins.  Super fun and cute!  AND I got to use up that scrap that was lying on my desk.

Here's a close up of the cute little bunny and the shaker element:

Supplies:

Stamps: CAS-ual Fridays "Some Bunny"

Dies; My Favorite Things 'hello"; Paper Smooches "Cute Clouds"; YNS grass border die

Challenges:

Word Art Wednesday #690--anything goes with uplifting sentiment

Lil' Patch of Crafty Friends #249--anything goes

Cards Galore Challenge #133--anything goes

Pattie's Creations #222--anything goes

Die Cut Divas--critters

Creative Inspirations--anything goes

Paper Funday #74--anything goes with the optional twist: weather related (clouds??  Does that count as weather?)

A Gem of a Challenge--anything goes

C.R.A.F.T. #750--spring/weather/anything goes

Crafty Catz #689--anything goes with the optional twist: add a sentiment

Creative Fingers #296--anything goes

Make My Monday #247--use a die cut or punch

Cupcake Inspirations #613--sky blue, pink, green

Blue Skies

 Hello, everyone!  It's time for a new challenge from the Creative Moments Challenge blog.  The theme is: For a Special Woman.  I used an image from our fabulous sponsor: Mirtillamente.

 Here is my card:

The sentiment played off the image, but the rest of the card, including color was inspired by the sentiment.  Every once in a while, I end up printing out two of an image or maybe printing out two different images from a sponsor, not being sure which one I might use.  So, this image was a leftover from a while ago and saved me some time in not having to go find it and go through the process of printing it out.  The blue satin ribbon was just a small piece (I think I used just under half of it on this card, so there is a tiny bit left.  It matched the paper I chose perfectly.  After coloring the image and adhering the panel to the card, I added some clear dewdrops to look like rain drops.  The blue skies are coming but aren't here yet.

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 "Phoebe Rain" digi; Verve "Blue Skies" sentiment

Dies: unbranded stitched label die from Amazon

Challenges:

Word Art Wednesday #689--anything goes with uplifting sentiment

Penny's Challenge #591--anything goes

Sweet Stampin'--special women

Lil' Patch of Crafty Friends #249--anything goes

Cards Galore Challenge #133--anything goes

Pattie's Creations #228--anything goes

Creative Inspirations--anything goes

Paper Funday Challenge #74--anything goes with the optional twist: weather related

A Gem of a Challenge--anything goes

C.R.A.F.T. Challenge #750--spring/weather/anything goes (I went with weather related)

As You Like It Challenge--Favorite: monochromatic or colorful and why (I like color in my images, but when it comes to the embellishments and papers, I tend to go monochromatic because I have a hard time matching colors.  I can use various shades of one color, such as the blues on this card, but using multiple colors is very challenging for me)

Hey There

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

Here is my card for your inspiration:

I have a little behind the scenes look for you today.  This card was inspired by a bunch of scraps that were left on my desk after making some other cards.  A lot of them looked like they could go together, so I pulled them all together and this is what I started with:

The rectangle of plaid paper and the bit of red ribbon were turned into my tag.  I added the silver star and the two connected black circles.  They are the base of a Western themed die cut set, so I die cut another small section out of black and then cut the second layer out of silver card stock and glued the two pieces onto the back and you will never know.  They created the star border that is underneath my sentiment banner.

Now, I NEVER throw away scraps of white card stock unless they are really, really tiny.  So, I took my little pile from the photo above and found two pieces that were large enough to stamp my little critters on.  Those little scraps are always perfect for little images that you are either going to die cut or fussy cut.

I also used on of the longer strips of white to die cut and stamp my sentiment on:

The strips of red card stock behind the tag were scraps, too.  The top one I didn't even need to do anything other than trim it a little shorter.  The bottom one was the same width as the top piece but quite short, so I just cut it almost in half and pieced it together behind the tag.  The middle strip needed a little trimming both in width and length.  The little silver stars were either left overs from the border die cut (2) or in my bits and pieces stash (2).

Not wanting the inside to feel lonely, I used a few more scraps to decorate it.  The plaid strip was in the first picture and the strip of red was just in my red scraps.  I finished it all off with a sentiment and the cute little piggie!

I definitely put a good dent in my scraps on this one.  Still have a lot of white (but I always do) and I wasn't able to use the gray ribbon or brown arrow from the first picture, but never fear, they will make it onto a card soon.

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: My Favorite Things "The Whole Herd"

Dies: MFT "Blueprints 13" tag and sentiment banner; western border die and small stars; Verve large star

SU! 3D Woodgrain embossing folder

Challenges:

Cupcake Inspirations #612--for the love of pigs

Penny's Challenge #591--anything goes

Lil' Patch of Crafty Friends #249--anything goes

Snippet's Playground #501--anything goes with snippets (I used a lot of snippets)

Die Cut Divas--critters

Cheerful Sketches--sketch

613 Avenue Create--anything goes with the optional twist: any occasion (birthday)

Little Red Wagon #797--B is for Birthday

Krafty Chicks #758--birthday

Cured?

Happy March 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:

We have a man at our church that has been struggling with different health issues for quite a while so, I thought I would make (and send) him a "get well" card.  I know he's not going to be "cured", but I thought he might get a little chuckle out of this cute card.  It took a bit of time to create the little scene as I die cut all the different layers with the same torn edge die and had to make sure the pieces were lined up properly before die cutting them.  I stenciled some clouds in the sky and added some mud at the bottom for the little piggies to play in.

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: My Favorite Things "The Whole Herd"

Dies: Kat Scrappiness "Distressed Edge" slimline die; Lawn Fawn "Stitched Snowbank" die; Sweet n' Sassy Stamps fence

Taylored Expressions "Create a Scene: Clouds" stencil

Challenges:

Double D--the color red

Creative Fingers #295--anything goes

Sketch Saturday #770--sketch with the optional twist: thinking of you

Cupcake Inspirations #612--for the love of pigs

Penny's Challenge #591--anything goes

Simon Says Stamp Wednesday--anything goes

Krafty Chicks #757--masculine

Winter Blues

Still working on "cleaning up" my craft desk and trying to use up some bits and pieces that are hanging around.  The little house scene was actually a piece leftover from the snowman card I showed in my last post.  It was just a little piece but I thought it was cut and worked perfectly for the focal point of this sketch.  All of the patterned papers and card stock pieces were scraps and the die cut snowflake border piece is something that I have had for years and years and years!!  Someone sent me a very sweet gift of a whole bunch of the die cut snowflake borders --several different styles.  I now have one border left to use.

Supplies:

Stamps: PaperTrey Ink "Just Sentiments: Be Merry"

Dies: My Favorite Things "Blueprints 14" stitched circle

Challenges:

ABC Christmas--C is for cute and D is for die cuts (I used die cuts)

Build Your Stash Holiday Cardmakers--sketch

C.R.A.F.T. #749--Christmas

Creative Fingers #295--anything goes

Make My Monday #246--faux or real stitching

 

Brrr . . . .

 After finally finishing up all My Valentine's Day cards, I was "cleaning" up my desk and playing with a few things that were on there before I put them away.    This little snowman was cut out from a commercial Christmas card that we received this year (I think, it could have been last year).  I die cut is with a rectangle die and then used a small dessert plate to trace the rounded edge.  Then I die cut another of the stitched rectangles out of light blue card stock and ran it through my die cutting machine with a snowflake embossing folder.  I blended and swiped on white pigment ink on top of the snowflakes so help them stand out more.  The silver letters were from a pack I bought about 18 years after my first child was born and I thought I was going to get into scrapbooking.  Turns out, I didn't get into it and I have a bunch of the letter left.  They are supposed to be stickers, but the adhesive is long gone so I have to glue them on.

I used a bit of red ribbon that was on my desk and is now almost finished.  I die cut some snowflakes from white glitter paper to add a bit of sparkle and shine.  You can see a little of the sparkle in the photo below and you can also see the shine from the foil on the scarf and you can see how the raised edges of the embossing have been brought out with the white ink.  

Supplies:

Dies: My Favorite Things "Blueprints 14" stitched rectangle and "Sweet Snowflakes" 

Cuttlebug snowflake embossing folder

Challenges:

ABC Christmas--C is for cute and D is for die cuts

Can You Handle the Pressure--anything goes with the optional twist: something that starts with "F" (this may be a little stretching it, but I have "F"rosty the snowman.  I also used frosty colors.

Lil' Patch of Crafty Friends # 248--anything goes

Atlantic Hearts Sketch Challenge #617--sketch

Little Red Wagon #795--winter blues

C.R.A.F.T. # 749--Christmas

Creative Fingers #295--anything goes

The whole herd

Happy Friday!!!  It's time for a new challenge from the Cut It Up Challenge Blog.  This week, the challenge is: Tie It Up (use twine, ribbon, etc.)

Here is my card for your inspiration:

This card was made from a bunch of bits and pieces that were left over from other projects.  While I was making Valentine's Day cards, the pieces were sitting on my desk and a sketch design really sparked a creative thought on how to use them all up together.  The white piece with the embossed horses was left over from a commercial Christmas card that I had cut apart to use other pieces of on a different card and thought this piece was too fun to throw away.  The top silver star border is actually two small pieces that were just long enough to hide behind the main panel.  I did have to die cut a second border to go along the bottom.  The two gray pieces are actually ribbon and I only had to trim off a bit from each piece to make them the correct length for the card (I don't know why I had two pieces cut from the same ribbon?)  And last but not least, the two silver "charms" and the tiny bit of twine were also in the bits and pieces stash.  And the three silver stars were the stars left behind when the border was cut out.

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: My Favorite Things "The Whole Herd"

Dies: unbranded label die from Amazon; My Favorite Things star border and Western charms (both are OLD sets no longer available)

Challenges:

CRAFT Rocket #122--Happy Birthday

Pretty Papers--red

Cupcake Inspiration #611--red, black and white

Fab n' Funky #610--stitching, real or faux (stitching on my die cut)

Sweet Stampin'--masculine makes

Lil' Patch of Crafty Friends #248--anything goes

Snippets Playground #500--Celebration with snippets 

Cardz 4 Guyz #366--sketch (took a little liberty with it, but I think the basics are still there)

Double D--the color red

 

Hello, love you lots

 Hello, everyone!  It's time for the mid-month reminder for the challenge from the Creative Moments Challenge blog.  The theme is: Make it Cute.  I am using an image from our fabulous sponsor: All Dressed Up.

 Here is my card:

I had some fun using up some items that were in my bits and pieces stash or sitting out on my desk.  The patterned papers were ones I used on almost all of my Valentine's Day cards this year.  The plaid "hello" was cut from a scrap of that paper.  The gray "hello" mat was left over from a previous card; the color just didn't quite go, but it was perfect for this.  The black heart border and the little black hearts the came out of the border were also left overs and provided a nice pop of accent for all the sweet pinkness!  I had a few pink hearts in my bits and pieces stash and they finished everything off perfectly.  Even the image was a left over!  She is part of an image of three girls together and I had used the other two back in November and she was just hanging around waiting to be colored up and put on a card.  Basically, the only things that were not left over were the card base and the background paper piece.

I used my mini MISTI to get the sentiment stamped perfectly, I started by putting the "hello" mat in the MISTI and stamping the sentiment where I wanted it to go.  Then, I adhered the plaid piece in place, put it back in the MISTI and stamped the sentiment again (actually several times to get the best coverage).  Thanks to the MISTI it was lined up perfectly and looks like one continuous sentiment even though it covers both the main layer and the mat layer.

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 "Best Frocks" digi (I used one of the three girls); My Favorite Things "Something for Everything" sentiment

Dies: My Favorite Things "Essential Hello"

Challenges: 

Crafter's Cafe #316--anything goes with the optional twist: spots AND/OR stripes

Crafty Gals Corner #264--fill in the blank: pink . . . (pink everything!!!  papers, card stock, markers)

Word Art Wednesday #688--anything goes with uplifting sentiment

Penny's Challenge #590--anything goes

Di's Digis--circles everywhere

Lil' Patch of Crafty Friends #248--anything goes

The Paper Shelter #626--with love

Two more

 I thought my previous post had my last Valentine's Day cards, but then I got thinking and realized I still had two more I hadn't posted yet.  So, I went looking and found the photos and here they are:

The first one was for one of my three girls.  I made them all similar but different.  Each of them had the same focal panel and elements, but the scarves are different and the layout for the rest of the card.

The second card was for my cousin.  Since he is a guy, I decided to steer clear of the pinks and used some blues and greens.  

Card #1:

Supplies:

Stamps: My Favorite Things "YUZU North Pole Pals"; PaperTrey Ink "Kid Kuddos" sentiment

Dies: unbranded label die from Amazon; My Favorite Things "Tag Builders #5" heart

Challenges:

Crafty Gals Corner #264--fill in the blank-pink . . . (I used pink card stock, papers and twine)

Crafty Catz #687--anything goes with the optional twist: use a die

Creative Fingers #294--anything goes

Atlantic Hearts Sketch Challenge #616--sketch

Fab n Funky Challenge #610--stitching, real or faux (stitched label die)

The Paper Shelter #625--add a heart

Card #2:

Supplies:

Stamps: My Favorite Things "YUZU North Pole Pals" 

Dies: Sweet n' Sassy Stamps heart

Challenges:

Creatalicious Challenge #286--anything goes with the optional twist: use green

Try a Sketch on Tuesday #663--sketch

Make My Monday #245--love

Shopping Our Stash #541--thrice as nice (at least three patterned papers)

Word Art Wednesday #687--anything goes with uplifting sentiment

Penny's Challenge #590--anything goes

Sweet Stampin'--masculine makes

Final batch

I managed to finish up my Valentine's Day cards yesterday (the day before Valentine's Day).  I really thought I got an early start and was going to be finished in plenty of time, but as always I was finishing up at the last minute.  This first one is for my husband's brother.

I had a really great time using this adorable bear set!  It's designed to be a Christmas/winter set, but since Valentine's Day is in February, I think it worked perfectly!  I added a little red tag and some black die cut hearts that have been sitting in my bits and pieces stash for a while.

 The second card is for a sweet older lady from our church.  She has been in an assisted living facility since December, so a friend and I went to visit her on Valentine's Day and I decided to make her a little card.

And the final one is for one of my daughters.  I used the same image/sentiment combo for all three girls, but changed up the layout and the combination of patterned papers for each one, so they are similar but different.

Card #1:

Supplies:

Stamps: My Favorite Things "YUZU North Pole Pals"; Verve "Take Note" sentiment

Dies: unbranded label die from Amazon; Verve "Scalloped Trim Trio" little hearts left over from die cutting a scalloped border

Challenges:

Creative Inspirations--Love is in the air

Love Those Pretty Papers--red

Crafty Catz #687--anything goes with the optional twist: use a die

Cupcake Challenge #611--red, black & white

Atlantic Hearts Sketch Challenge #616--sketch

Little Red Wagon #794--red alert

Card #2:

Supplies:

Stamps: My Favorite Things "YUZU North Pole Pals" sentiment

Dies: Sweet n' Sassy small hearts

Challenges:

Unicorn Challenge #106--dots AND/OR stripes

Double D--hearts

Creative Fingers #294--anything goes

Make My Monday #245--love

Shopping Our Stash #541--Thrice as nice (use 3+ patterned papers)

Word Art Wednesday #687--anything goes with uplifting sentiment

The Paper Shelter #625--add a heart

MY Favorite Things Sketch Challenge #3--sketch

Card #3:

Supplies:

Stamps: My Favorite Things "YUZU North Pole Pals"; PaperTrey Ink "Kid Kudos" sentiment

Dies: unbranded label die from Amazon; My Favorite Things "Tag Builders #5" heart

Challenges:

Creative Sketches #99--sketch

Fab n Funky #610--stitching, real or faux (stitched label die)

Penny's Challenge #590--anything goes

A few more

 I've had a chance to create a few more Valentine's Day cards this week.  This first one is for my husband.  I didn't want it to be all girly, so I used some blue and greens, but there are still hearts in the stenciled background!  I stamped the bear on the card base and used a previously created mask so I could stencil in the background.  I also stamped the scarf portion on a scrap of patterned paper and adhered it in place.  

The second card is for one of my kiddos.  They are all teenagers, but they are still my kiddos.  For this one I used both the cutie bear and one of the adorable penguins from the same set.  I also paper pieced their scarves as it is the perfect way to dress these little guys up!

Card #1:

Supplies:

Stamps: My Favorite Things "YUZU North Pole Pals" and "Everyday Sentiments"

Stencil: My Favorite Things heart stencil

Challenges:

Sweet Stampin'--love

Creative Inspirations--love is in the air

613 Avenue Create--anything goes with the optional twist: lots of love

Aud Sentiments #321--love/anniversary/wedding AND/OR shimmer

Lil' Patch of Crafty Friends #247--anything goes

Cardz 4 Guyz #365--CAS

Creative Knockouts #540--love/anniversary/wedding/Valentine's Day

Make My Monday #245--love

Card #2:

Supplies:

Stamps: My Favorite Things "YUZU North Pole Pals"; PaperTrey Ink sentiment set

Dies: Sweet n' Sassy Stamps small hearts; unbranded label die

Challenges:

Pattie's Creations #227--anything goes

Colorful Options--pinks or rainbow

A Gem of a Challenge--anything goes

Simon Says Stamp Wednesday--love is in the air

Double D--hearts

C.R.A.F.T. #748--love/anything goes

As You Like It--favorite? stamping or digital imagers (I definitely prefer stamping.  It allows me to combine images like this bear and penguin and make them hold hands!  Also, I can change the color of ink in the sentiments)

Crafty Catz #687--anything goes with the optional twist: use a die

Sketch Saturday #769--sketch